Red Table, Brown Jug - Mary Fedden

A characteristic still life by Mary Fedden, featuring a brown jug and feather on a red table, rendered in her signature flat, colourful style.

Mary Fedden, a central figure in twentieth-century British art, produced this still life in 2009. The composition demonstrates her characteristic approach to domestic subjects, where everyday objects are arranged with a focus on colour and form rather than strict realism. The work features a brown jug, a white vessel, and a black feather placed upon a bright red surface. The background is framed by a border of pink, which adds a decorative quality to the overall arrangement. Fedden often utilised gouache for its matte finish and ability to hold flat, opaque areas of colour. In this piece, the objects are simplified into their essential shapes. The perspective is flattened, a technique she frequently employed to bring the items into a direct relationship with the viewer. The inclusion of the feather introduces a graphic element that contrasts with the solid, rounded forms of the pottery. Her work is noted for its lack of pretension, favouring a direct and honest observation of the objects she kept in her studio. Born in Bristol, Fedden studied at the Slade School of Fine Art. Her career spanned several decades, during which she taught at the Royal College of Art and became the first woman to teach painting there. Her style remained consistent throughout her life, defined by a playful use of colour and a keen eye for the charm of simple, inanimate items. This print captures the essence of her late-career output, where her confidence in composition allowed for a reduction of detail while maintaining a strong visual presence. The work is an example of her ability to transform a mundane tabletop arrangement into a balanced, rhythmic image through the careful application of pigment and the deliberate placement of shapes.