Mary Fedden, R.A.

London, Royal Academy, Summer Exhibition, 2013, cat. no.16, illustrated p.21 (as The Spanish Choir).

Original canvas. The canvas appears sound. There are a couple of isolated, extremely minor lines of craquelure in the upper left quadrant. There is some surface dirt apparent to the work, including some specks of matter most apparent to the purple grapes. There is a small scuff to the sky in the upper right quadrant, with a resultant fleck of loss. Subject to the above, the work appears to be in good overall condition with strong and vibrant colours throughout. Ultraviolet light reveals no obvious signs of fluorescence or retouching. The work is presented in a simple wooden frame with a gilt slip. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
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'I so enjoy the process of painting still lifes. I find it difficult to make landscape in itself interesting enough, but it serves as an excellent backdrop to still lifes. I like to keep the objects in the foreground separate as I do not like overlapping, and it is perhaps for this reason that the table tops are tipped up towards the viewer' (Mary Fedden, quoted in The Artist, March 1995, p.12).