An expressive mid-century still life painting, executed in oil onto board and dated 1961.

This composition brings together a humble yet vibrant assortment of fresh sardines, prawns, and sliced onions arranged across a softly rumpled cloth. The artist has captured the immediacy of a kitchen table moment: the silvery shimmer of fish, the warm glow of onions, and the deep coral tones of prawns – rendered with expressive confidence.

The work sits firmly within the mid-century modernist tradition. It blends realism with painterly abstraction, allowing objects to remain recognisable while being interpreted through bold, gestural forms.

A muted, earthy palette dominates the scene: soft greys, warm taupes, and sandy neutrals form the backdrop. These subtle tones are punctuated by sharper highlights: the metallic blues and whites of the fish, the pale yellows and greens of the onions, and the rich vermillion hues of the prawns. Together, they create a balanced and atmospheric harmony

Broad, confident strokes shape the background and cloth, giving it a textured, almost sculptural feel. The food items themselves are rendered with more deliberate yet still loose brushwork – quick flicks and decisive marks bring out the glistening skin of the sardines and the curved forms of the prawns. The overall surface has an energetic, spontaneous quality that enhances the painting’s rustic charm and authenticity.

This oil on board is presented in a complementary wood frame with multiple profiles.  Both the painting and frame are in excellent vintage condition. 

Size: 52 x 60 cm (including frame)

A striking and brilliantly executed mid-century still life rendered in a bold, semi-abstract style, painted in oil onto canvas.

The composition depicts a fish laid across a platter beside a lemon, glass, and bowl: objects arranged within a geometrically fragmented space. The artist has simplified form into planes of colour and texture, transforming everyday objects into rhythmic patterns of line and contrast.

The palette combines muted greys, whites, and earthy browns punctuated by deep blues, black, and sharp accents of red and green. The juxtaposition of the lemon’s acid hue and the fish’s reddish tones creates a visual tension that energises the otherwise subdued background.

The brushwork is layered yet controlled, with areas of smooth paint application set against textured, block-like sections. The interplay of flatness and depth, together with the abstracted cubist influences, lends the work a distinctly modern sensibility: a refined balance between structure and spontaneity that captures the quiet drama of the still life genre.

This oil on canvas is presented in a complementary slim wood frame with an inner white border. There is some scattered craquelure and paint loss on the glass cup but this does not detract from the overall appearance and the painting is otherwise in good condition overall. 

Size: 56 x 72.5 cm (including frame)

A lively and expressive mid-century still life that captures a vibrant table scene where fruit, bottles, and books converge in a symphony of colour and texture, executed in oil onto board.

A blue tablecloth stretches across the foreground, holding a scattering of apples, oranges, and a lemon alongside two dark bottles and a pair of books rendered in bold red and black. The scene glows against a luminous yellow backdrop, infusing the composition with a sense of warmth and vitality.

The artist’s palette is bold and confident: sunny yellows, blues, deep blacks, and accents of warm orange and crimson create a dynamic interplay that brings life to the static composition. The brushwork is expressive and heavily impastoed, with thick, deliberate strokes that lend a tactile energy to the painting. The use of contrasting colours and broad application of paint give the piece a sense of rhythm and immediacy characteristic of mid-century modernist expression.

The painting balances structure and spontaneity beautifully – each object is simplified yet full of presence, and the scene hums with quiet intensity. A wonderful example of post-war European still-life painting, celebrating the everyday through bold colour and painterly confidence.

This oil on board is presented in a complementary gilt frame with red undertones, and an inner white border The painting is in excellent vintage condition, and the frame has scuffing.

Size: 56 x 72.5 cm (including frame)