Boats at Royan

Peploe spent the summer of 1910 in Royan on the west coast of France, painting with the artist J.D. Fergusson. The Gallery also owns a painting by Fergusson from the same time. Peploe moved to France in 1910 with his wife, and their son was born in Royan that summer. Like Fergusson, Peploe’s exposure to avant-garde painting had led to his work developing in a more expressionistic manner, as seen by the brushwork in this painting. This small panel would have been painted out of doors, the bright light also encouraging a brightening of the palette.