Duncan Grant, 
British 1885-1978 - 

Parrot Tulips, c.1957;  

oil on board, signed lower right 'Duncan Grant', 56 x 38.4 cm (ARR) 

Provenance: 
with The Leicester Galleries, London (according to the label attached to the reverse); 
J. C. Greer, purchased from the above c.1957 (according to the label attached to the reverse); 
the Collection of Bernard Sheridan (1927-2007) and thence by descent 

Exhibited: 
The Leicester Galleries, London, 'Duncan Grant', 1st May 1957, no.37 (according to the label attached to the reverse) 

Note: 
this work was likely completed at Grant's home in Charleston, with a nude painting by the artist in the background. Grant used this compositional device of placing a still life in front of an image of a nude throughout his career, for example 'Mimosa, 1930' and 'Still Life with Matisse, 1971'. The wilting tulips echo the folds of the nude, creating a natural rhythmic quality to the work. The late 50s were important for the artist as a large retrospective of his work was held at the Tate in 1959. 

Duncan Grant was a central member of the Bloomsbury Group, closely associated with seminal figures in early 20th century British culture such as Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, E.M. Forster and Lytton Strachey, alongside the art critic Roger Fry, the latter having a particularly strong impact on Grant's artistic approach. Grant's works can be found in a wide number of collections throughout the country, including the Tate Britain and the V&A in London, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.