Oil paint on canvas
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/william-scott-1916" aria-label="More by William Scott" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">William Scott</a>
Mackerel on a Plate
Purchased 1954
animals: fish and aquatic life
fish
food and drink
kitchen
mackerel
objects
plate
<p>Describing his paintings, Scott said 'I find beauty in plainness, in a conception which is precise, a simple idea which to the observer must inevitably shock and leave a concrete image on the mind.' He became interested in painting realist still-lifes in the 1930s, often portraying the kitchen implements that he kept around his studio. He considered his work to be influenced by the French still-life tradition, particularly the eighteenth-century artist Chardin. As he developed, the objects became flatter and later in the 1950s became abstract shapes.</p><p><em>Gallery label, August 2004</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
23 March 2001 – 9 June 2002
2002-06-09
23 March 2001 – 9 June 2002
2002-06-09
2001-03-23
Tate Modern (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/
2001-03-23
1951: The Shape of a Year
Collection based display
22 January 2005 – 2 May 2005
2005-05-02
Tate St Ives (St Ives, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/
2005-01-22
Collection display (Jan-May)
Collection based display
15 May 2010 – 26 September 2010
2010-09-26
15 May 2010 – 26 September 2010
2010-09-26
2010-05-15
Tate St Ives (St Ives, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/
2010-05-15
Object
Collection based display
26 January 2013 – 2 February 2014
2014-02-02
26 January 2013 – 6 May 2013
2013-05-06
2013-01-26
Tate St Ives (St Ives, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/
25 May 2013 – 29 September 2013
2013-09-29
2013-05-25
The Hepworth Wakefield (Wakefield, UK)
25 October 2013 – 2 February 2014
2014-02-02
2013-10-25
Ulster Museum (Belfast, UK)
http://www.ulstermuseum.org.uk
2013-01-26
William Scott
Exhibition
25 May 2013 – 2 February 2014
2014-02-02
25 May 2013 – 29 September 2013
2013-09-29
2013-05-25
The Hepworth Wakefield (Wakefield, UK)
25 October 2013 – 2 February 2014
2014-02-02
2013-10-25
Ulster Museum (Belfast, UK)
http://www.ulstermuseum.org.uk
2013-05-25
William Scott Centenary
Loan-out
14 October 2017 – 31 January 2021
2021-01-31
14 October 2017 – 31 January 2021
2021-01-31
2017-10-14
Tate St Ives (St Ives, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/stives/
2017-10-14
Modern Art and St Ives
Collection based display
Mackerel on a Plate
support: 559 × 762 mm
frame: 752 × 960 × 100 mm
Purchased 1954
<p>Describing his <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>paintings</span></a>, Scott said 'I find beauty  in plainness, in a conception which is precise, a simple idea which to the observer must inevitably shock and leave a concrete image on the mind.'  He became interested in painting <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/r/realism" title="Glossary definition for 'Realism'"><span>realist</span></a> <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/still-life" title="Glossary definition for 'Still life'"><span>still-lifes</span></a>  in the 1930s, often portraying the kitchen implements that he kept around his studio.  He considered his work to be influenced by  the French still-life tradition, particularly the eighteenth-century artist Chardin. As he developed, the objects became flatter and  later in the 1950s became <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/a/abstract-art" title="Glossary definition for 'Abstract art'"><span>abstract</span></a> shapes. </p>
Display caption
2004-08-31T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>N06245</b> MACKEREL ON A PLATE 1951–2</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not inscribed.
<br/>Canvas, 22×30 (56×76).
<br/>Purchased from the St George's Gallery (Kerr Fund) 1954.
<br/><i>Coll:</i> Purchased from the artist by Basil Jonzen on behalf of the St George's Gallery 1954.
<br/><i>Exh:</i> <i>The Renaissance of the Fish</i>, Roland, Browse and Delbanco, October–November 1953 (52); <i>Some Trends in English Painting</i>, St George's Gallery, November–December 1954 (no catalogue).</p>
<p>The <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a> was begun in February 1951 and completed in September 1952 (letter from Basil Jonzen, 24 December 1954).</p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, <i>The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture</i>, London 1964, II
<br/>
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-10-08T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
animals: fish and aquatic life fish food and drink kitchen mackerel objects plate