Sir Matthew Smith CBE, British 1879–1959 - Tulips, c. late 1930s; oil on canvas, signed with initials 'MS', 55 x 33 cm (ARR) Provenance: Judge Henry Mahaut, Aix-en-Provence, gifted by the artist in the late 1930s; private collection, France; Aix...

Sir Matthew Smith CBE, British 1879–1959 - Tulips, c. late 1930s; oil on canvas, signed with initials 'MS', 55 x 33 cm (ARR) Provenance: Judge Henry Mahaut, Aix-en-Provence, gifted by the artist in the late 1930s; private collection, France; Aix Luberon Encheres, Aix-en-Provence, 27th March 2021, lot 390; private collection Note: with thanks to John Gledhill for his assistance in cataloguing this work The painting was most likely gifted to Judge Henry Mahout as thanks for letting Smith stay with him during the late 1930s when he was homeless in Provence. The artist would often give gifts of paintings to such acquaintances, and he mentions the Mahout in his letters to friends in Aix from England during the War. As an avid collector of old vases, Smith would revisit the same objects again and again in his paintings, in this case the blue jug that appears in several paintings from the era. Inscribed in French on the reverse of the stretcher: 'Mathieu Smeeth (sic) Anglais réfugié guerre 39, ami du Docteur Casse, logé 22 rue du 4 septembre à Aix-en-Provence par Henri Mahaut, juge à Aix'.
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