Matthew Smith 1879-1959
Cornish Landscape II, 1920
oil on canvas
27 x 31 1/2 inches
68.5 x 80 cm
68.5 x 80 cm
'In June 1920 Smith went with his wife and two sons to St Austell on the Cornish Coast. After his family’s departure Smith moved inland to St Columb, where in...
'In June 1920 Smith went with his wife and two sons to St Austell on the Cornish Coast. After his family’s departure Smith moved inland to St Columb, where in the autumn and winter that followed he painted the series of landscapes which marked the climax of his achievement and the consolidation of his experience to date.'
(London, Barbican Art Gallery, Matthew Smith, exhibition catalogue, 15 September – 30 October 1983, p69)
'This painting is virtually identical in composition to Cornish Landscape (I) (Cat.80) and was possibly copied from that painting rather than directly from the subject. This is confirmed by its larger scale. The two paintings are often confused by curators of exhibitions, and the provenance for either work has occasionally been given for the other. This creates enormous difficulty in deciphering the exhibition record for these two paintings. In the case of the Barbican exhibition the details given in the catalogue for this work were confused with those for Cornish Landscape: The Orange Road (Cat.90), and therefore no catalogue number for that show can be given.'
(John Gledhill, Catalogue Raisoneé of the Oil Paintings of Matthew Smith: With a Critical Introduction to His Work, Lund Humphries, Surrey and Burlington, 2009, cat no.81, p79)
(London, Barbican Art Gallery, Matthew Smith, exhibition catalogue, 15 September – 30 October 1983, p69)
'This painting is virtually identical in composition to Cornish Landscape (I) (Cat.80) and was possibly copied from that painting rather than directly from the subject. This is confirmed by its larger scale. The two paintings are often confused by curators of exhibitions, and the provenance for either work has occasionally been given for the other. This creates enormous difficulty in deciphering the exhibition record for these two paintings. In the case of the Barbican exhibition the details given in the catalogue for this work were confused with those for Cornish Landscape: The Orange Road (Cat.90), and therefore no catalogue number for that show can be given.'
(John Gledhill, Catalogue Raisoneé of the Oil Paintings of Matthew Smith: With a Critical Introduction to His Work, Lund Humphries, Surrey and Burlington, 2009, cat no.81, p79)
Provenance
The Artist, 1920-1959Mary Keene, acquired by bequest from Estate of Matthew Smith, 1959
The Lefevre Gallery, London
Mayor Gallery, London
Knoedler Gallery, London and Waddington Galleries, London, acquired jointly from Mayor Gallery, London, November 1978
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, purchased through the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund from Knoedler Gallery, 1979
Offer Waterman, London, acquired directly from the above in 2022
Exhibitions
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Masters of British Painting 1800-1950, 1956, 2 October - 2 December 1956, cat no.91, illus b/w p116, extended loan from Mrs Stanley B. Resor, travelling to:St. Louis, The City Art Museum of St. Louis, 10 January - 2 March 1957;
San Francisco, The California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 28 March - 12 May 1957
London, Barbican Art Gallery, Matthew Smith, 15 September - 30 October 1983, cat no.23, not illus, wrongly titled and catalogued
Literature
John Gledhill, Catalogue Raisoneé of the Oil Paintings of Matthew Smith: With a Critical Introduction to His Work, Lund Humphries, Surrey and Burlington, 2009, cat no.81, illus b/w p79, full page illus colour pl.13, p55Join our mailing list
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