About this artwork

Created on the spot during Peploe’s working trip to the island of Barra in 1903, this diminutive painting encapsulates Peploe’s desire to depict the essence of a scene before him. In this case he has achieved the seemingly impossible recording of waves falling against rocks amidst a choppy sea. Working on a smal scale and applying un-mixed paint with little forethought, the energy of the artist’s technique and that of the water in front of him come together to create a vigorous image which verges on the abstract.

Updated before 2020

see media
  • artist:
  • title:
    Rocks at Barra
  • date created:
    1903
  • materials:
    Oil on board
  • measurements:
    16.40 x 24.00 cm; Framed: 36.30 x 45.80 x 3.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Bequeathed by Dr R.A. Lillie 1977
  • accession number:
    GMA 1935
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Samuel John Peploe

Samuel John Peploe