A painting by the Scottish artist, Stanley Cursiter, which has not been seen in public since 1929, is one of the leading lots at Bonhams annual Scottish Sale in Edinburgh on April 26. 

Apple Green is estimated at between £100,000 and 150,000.

The monumental work – 40x50 inches – has been in the same family since it was bought for £300 in the late 1920s. Painted in 1925, Apple Green was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in the same year, at the Royal Glasgow Institute in 1926, and at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh in 1929, the last time it appeared in public.

Stanley Cursiter (1887 – 1976) played a major role in Scottish art for much of the 20th century. Born in Orkney, he studied at Edinburgh College of Art and was one of the first artists to introduce Post-Modernism and Futurism to Scotland. 

After World War I, however, he adopted the more realist style seen in Apple Green.

Cursiter held senior positions at the National Galleries of Scotland for over 25 years, first as the keeper (1919-1930) then as Director (1930-1948). He served as His – later Her – Majesty’s Court Painter in Scotland from 1948 until his death, and was an influential voice in the campaign to create a Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. 

Apple Green is set in the artist’s elegant rooms at 11, Royal Circus in Edinburgh’s New Town, and features one of his favourite models, Poppy Low.

There is an allusion in the work to his wife Phyllis, who also often modelled for her husband, in the form of the sheet music - she was an accomplished amateur violinist.  

Cursiter’s interest in interiors mirrored that of his contemporary, Francis Cadell. Unlike Cadell, however, who concentrated on surface elegance, Cursiter imbued his interiors with an intimate, homely feel. In marked contrast to Cadell’s artfully posed fashion-plate models, Cursiter’s sitters are often engaged in typical domestic activities such as winding wool, arranging flowers or playing music.

Bonhams Head of Scottish Painting, Chris Brickley, said: “Stanley Cursiter's series of interiors are among his finest achievements, and this rediscovered picture is one of his most significant exhibition pieces.”

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