Still life with roses and teapot. Oil, canvas.
Artist

Artist Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell

Interior with a figure of a lady. Oil on canvas. Around 1915.
Interior with a figure of a lady. Oil on canvas. Around 1915.

Enjoying the Good Life. Artist Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell

Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (pronounced “Kaddle”) was the youngest of a group of artists known as the “Scottish Colourists”. He was flamboyant, charismatic, and famous not only for his paintings but also for his eccentric lifestyle.

Cadell was born in Edinburgh in April 1883. His father was a surgeon, Francis Cadell, and his mother was a Frenchwoman, Marie Boileau. They were wealthy, upper middle class.

Model. Oil on canvas. 1912.
Model. Oil on canvas. 1912.

The city of his birth, Edinburgh, was booming in the late 19th century, with bankers, doctors, lawyers, and publishers becoming rich and prosperous. The market for art, design, and decorative goods was also booming.

Cadell spent his childhood at 22 Ainslie Place, “where respectability was achieved to such a high perfection that it seemed magnificent.” Cadell studied art at the Edinburgh Academy. Then, on the recommendation of his father’s friend, the artist Arthur Melville, he went to Paris in 1899 to enroll at the Académie Julian.

Still life with roses and teapot. Oil, canvas.
Still life with roses and teapot. Oil, canvas.

The style of the artist’s early works, light, airy, shimmering, can be explained by his acquaintance with the work of the Impressionists, and the splashes of color in some of them refer to the Fauvists. However, perhaps the greatest influence on him during this period was Whistler, whose exhibition Cadell visited in 1905.

The palette of these early works is often limited to shades of lilac and white, cream and gray tones.

Roses. Watercolor, paper.
Roses. Watercolor, paper.

Cadell returned to Edinburgh in 1902, and soon his first exhibitions took place at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Society of Scottish Artists.

In 1906, Cadell moved to Munich, the artistic capital of Germany. He entered the famous Academy of Artistic Creation. It is believed that at that time the artist became acquainted with the works of Lieberman and Corinth.

Girl in Blue (Reflections). Oil, canvas.
Girl in Blue (Reflections). Oil, canvas.

He returned to his homeland in 1908. And what about Edinburgh? Cadell liked everything in Edinburgh new theaters, department stores with electric lighting, elevators, an abundance of glass and mirrors, where “customers perceived any purchase as an event”, tea rooms, architecture, interiors of houses, style and sophistication of local residents.

He himself was a part of this world by birthright, by his aspirations.

Black hat. Oil, canvas.
Black hat. Oil, canvas.

In 1909, Cadell finished the decoration of his first studio on George Street. He decorated the room in white, lilac and gray tones. But the floorboards were black, glossy, reflecting light, shading the surrounding objects.

A studio as a symbol of wealth, sophistication of the owner. A studio is a calling card. This is an important moment in the work of the artist, who painted portraits of social beauties, interiors of rich houses, who sold paintings to representatives of the upper middle class.

Still life with carnations. Oil, canvas.
Still life with carnations. Oil, canvas.

And the time itself encouraged him to be “simultaneously a designer, architect, craftsman and artisan.”

Cadell knew how to benefit from family connections. He was patronized by the shipowner Ion Harrison, the influential art dealer Alexander Reid.

Self portrait of the artist in his studio on George Street. 1914.
Self portrait of the artist in his studio on George Street. 1914.

In 1910, a family friend, Sir Patrick Ford, paid for Cadell’s trip to Venice. The artist traveled with his friend Ivar Campbell, grandson of the Duke of Argyll. Cadell had previously visited the Argyll family castle in Inverary several times.

In Venice, Cadell’s handling of paints became freer and more expressive, he began to experiment with increasingly bright colors. The artist’s imagination was also captured by the reflection of buildings in the water of the canals. Interest in reflections became one of the defining features of his work. Campbell was killed in the First World War. Cadell volunteered for the army, not least in memory of his friend. Remarkably, he applied twice. The first time he was refused on medical grounds. Cadell gave up smoking and worked for a time on a farm in Kirkconnell to recuperate. He was wounded twice during the war and was awarded several medals.

Interior of a studio on George Street.
Interior of a studio on George Street.

With the economic downturn of the late 1920s, the art market also declined. Cadell, who had lived in luxury, suffered greatly financially.

He was forced to sell part of the house on Ainslie Place, and then moved to cheaper housing altogether. In the early 1930s, the situation worsened further, sales of works declined. Cadell held sales of his works at half price.

Still life with anemones and lemons. 1912.
Still life with anemones and lemons. 1912.

Biographers note that the last years of his life were overshadowed by poor health, as well as accidents. Once he fell down the steps of a tram, another time he was robbed on the street on his way home.

The artist died in 1937 at the age of only fifty-four.

Reflections. Oil, canvas.
Reflections, Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell. Oil, canvas.
Reflections (fragment).
Reflections (fragment).
Santa Maria della Salute, Venice. Oil painting. 1911.
Santa Maria della Salute, Venice. Oil painting. 1911.
Chintz curtains. Oil on canvas. 1915.
Chintz curtains. Oil on canvas. 1915.
Parting. Watercolor, paper. 1915.
Parting. Watercolor, paper. 1915.
Green bottle. Oil, canvas.
Green bottle. Oil, canvas.
Orange curtain. Oil, canvas.
Orange curtain, Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell. Oil, canvas.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell Portrait of a Lady in Black. Oil on canvas. Miss Dawn Washope is the artist's favorite model. A wealthy woman, a suffragette.
Portrait of a Lady in Black. Oil on canvas. Miss Dawn Washope is the artist’s favorite model. A wealthy woman, a suffragette.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell Interior with a red chair. Oil, canvas.
Interior with a red chair. Oil, canvas.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell Lacquered screen.
Lacquered screen.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell Chinese tea set.
Chinese tea set.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell Embroidered cloak.
Embroidered cloak.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell Cassis.
Cassis.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell White villa.
White villa.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell Sea and sky of Aiona.
Sea and sky of Aiona.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell White room.
White room.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell Landscape of Steeding.
Landscape of Steeding.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell One of the houses on Ainslie Place.
One of the houses on Ainslie Place.