Still Life of White Flowers, an Oil Painting by Cecil Kennedy

#18204: Still Life of White Flowers, an Oil Painting by Cecil Kennedy
By Kennedy, Cecil (British, 1905-1997)
British, dated 1953
Canvas: height 77cm, width 64cm, depth 2cm
Frame: height 98cm, width 85cm, depth 5cm
This luminous still life depicts a generous arrangement of white flowers gathered in a glass vase, set against a softly shadowed ground. It is a fine example of the flower painting for which the British artist Cecil Kennedy (1905–1997) became the most celebrated exponent of his generation, exhibiting at the Royal Academy and the Paris Salon and counting royalty among his patrons. Signed at the lower right, the painting carries exhibition labels to the reverse dated 1953.
At the centre, trumpet lilies rise from the arrangement, their green-throated petals opening around golden stamens. Around and below them cluster hellebores and single roses with pale yellow centres, a full double bloom flushed with pink, sprigs of white narcissi and viburnum, and pendent white tulips whose heads bow gracefully over the rim of the vase. Long trailing racemes of green pieris spill to the right, lending the composition movement and asymmetry.
The flowers are held in a spherical glass vase raised on a cluster of glass balls, which Kennedy renders with great skill, the stems refracted through the water, and the whole reflected on the polished surface beneath. A ladybird, a favourite motif of the artist, rests on one of the lower leaves, a characteristic touch of naturalism.
Kennedy handles the oil medium with meticulous care, contrasting the crisp white blooms and fresh green foliage against a deep, muted background that throws the arrangement into luminous relief. The result is a painting of great freshness and presence, typical of the artist at his considerable best.
The painting is signed 'Cecil Kennedy' at the lower right. The reverse retains two printed labels of The Fine Art Society, Ltd., 148 New Bond Street, London, giving the title as 'White Flowers', naming the artist and dated 1953, together with the label of the fine-art framers and packers James Bourlet & Sons Ltd. The work was exhibited in 1953 at a flower-painting exhibition.
A radiant and beautifully observed flower piece by one of the foremost British still-life painters of the 20th century, this work would grace any interior.
$37,500