WILLIAM SCOTT, R.A. (1913-1989)

In the present work, three dark green pears are carefully arranged on a white background to create a symphony in light and form. William Scott grew a mature pear tree in the garden outside his studio in Coleford, Somerset, and its harvest fruit became a rich source of inspiration for his still life paintings from the 1970s.

Pears featured increasingly in Scott’s work from around 1976, and, after a particularly fine autumn that year, Mary Scott wrote to her friend Margot Davies to report that ‘William did some lovely paintings – all oils and mostly pears’ (letter dated 9 March 1977, quoted in S. Whitfield, op. cit., p. 196). The works referred to comprise a series of seventeen paintings, An Orchard of Pears, executed over the space of just one year. The juicy green pear in its abundance and with its sensuous curved green form took on a symbolic meaning for Scott. The critic T.P. Flanagan, writing in The Independent on 24 July 1990, noted that ‘As with everything he drew, when Scott concentrated his attention upon them, the pears became endowed with several layers of meaning. He perceived them not only as fruit but as symbols of fruitfulness’ (quoted in S. Whitfield, loc. cit.).