Edward Ladell (1821-1886) British Still Life with a Pineapple, Roses, Carnations, Cob Nuts, Peaches,

Edward Ladell (1821-1886) British Still Life with a Pineapple, Roses, Carnations, Cob Nuts, Peaches, a Pear, Black Grapes, Raspberries on a Parcel Gilt Tazza with a Parcel Gilt Casket on a Table oil on canvas monogrammed lower left 61 x 51cm (24.02 x 20.08in) Provenance: William & Lucy Beckett 1889 By descent Private Collection Ladell exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1856 and 1886, and also at the British Institute, the Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street and local West Country venues. Ladell became immensely successful and was one of the finest English still life painters of his generation. Ladell specialised in still lifes composed of fruit, flowers and a variety of objects including glass, tankards, china vases and bird's nests. His technique achieved an astonishing degree of realism. His work was much sought after and they often ensured flattering notices from the leading representative journals. His biographer Frank Lewis writes: 'he paints with the fidelity of an old Dutchman and with the brilliancy of colour all of his own'. When signing his work Ladell used the EL monogram back-to-back. The work of Ladell is represented in the Bristol City Art Gallery, the Colchester and Essex Museum, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Essex, the Harrogate City Art Gallery, the Reading City Art Gallery and the Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield.