Marbella, 1972

Edward Wolfe RA (1897 - 1982)

RA Collection: Art

This vibrant landscape is painted with energetic strokes, patches of colour interweaving to create the lush, rolling countryside. Edward Wolfe was sometimes known as ‘England’s Matisse’, alluding to his painterly style using bold colours. He not only painted landscapes but still-lifes and portraits, all in this characteristic robust and striking manner.

Although he was born in South Africa, Wolfe moved to London in his twenties and was predominantly based in Britain thereafter. He travelled widely during his lifetime, including to Europe, Mexico, the United States and to his birth-country of South Africa. The climates and topographies he encountered on his travels provided inspiration for Wolfe. The nature of the light in and their varied terrains appealed to Wolfe’s expressive tendencies and gave a focus for this vibrant palette.

Wolfe was closely associated with the Bloomsbury Group of artists and writers, and worked with Omega Workshops after meeting the painter and critic Roger Fry (1866-1934). This connection had a visible influence in Wolfe’s artistic output throughout his lifetime, with post-Impressionist and realist tendencies permeating particularly his portrait works. The Fauvist elements in his work – most notably the bright colours and attention to pattern and form – were a result of his time in Paris around 1922, when he took up residence in a studio in the Montparnasse quarter.