Flowers in a Vase

The high-toned colouring, particularly the combination of turquoise and orange, belongs to Gertler’s mid-late 1930s’ period, as does the background arrangement of architectural shapes, based on a favoured combination of wooden panels (possibly door panels) and sometimes a glimpse through an ironwork balcony to the outside. Flowers were a staple still-life element to Gertler, painted throughout his career but the background suggests a mid-1930s date. Pastel is fairly rare in Gertler’s oeuvre and associated with works from his final decade. A review in The Observer, of a different work, noted that it was a ‘medium which is new to the artist, and seems to suit admirably the style of his art.’ (The Observer, 05 Feb 1933, p. 13).

The Polish pianist, Maria Donska (1912–1996), arrived in England as a Jewish refugee in 1934 and settled in Hampstead with her lifelong friend Leonora Speyer, known as ‘Baba’. Maria had a close friendship with Gertler towards the end of his life; no correspondence has been traced between them but according to Epstein’s biographer, Stephen Gardiner, they had a passionate affair. Maria was certainly part of Gertler’s close circle, known to his friends Dr. Andrew and Dorothy Morland. According to some accounts, she found his body after Gertler’s suicide in his garden studio in Hampstead in June 1939. Maria does not appear in Gertler’s diary or address book, but Leonora is listed as Mrs. F.C.O. Speyer in 1937.

Maria inherited two Gertler paintings from Leonora: the present work, and Landscape Row of Trees, lot 146.

We are very grateful to Sarah MacDougall for preparing this catalogue entry.