John Duncan Fergusson RBA (British, 1874-1961) Portrait of a lady amongst leavesProperty from a private family collectionJohn Duncan Fergusson RBA (British, 1874-1961)Portrait of a lady amongst leaves initialled, dated and inscribed 'JDF/51./91/2 x 71/2' (on the reverse)oil on board23.5 x 18.8cm (9 1/4 x 7 3/8in).ProvenanceThe artist.Margaret Morris, Glasgow.Private collection, UK.Following Fergusson's move to Paris in 1907, his painting, and in particular portraiture, took on entirely new and increasingly abstract form. Unlike previous portraits, he adopted a new vocabulary, sacrificing the individuality of the model through the extreme simplification of the face, often combined with bright colours and pattern to the backgrounds. Although painted later, in 1951, the present work highlights Fergusson's development of a mask-like quality of portrait achieved through the simplification of the sitter's features. This is likely a direct influence from his early interest in 'primitive' sculpture which he later said he first encountered in Derain's studio. This reflected the ongoing fashion in Paris for African art and costume, including West African carving and sculpture - Picasso and Matisse were later to exploit this source in their Cubist works. Having first visited Cap d'Antibes in the south of France in 1913, Fergusson developed a love of the area, and he would return here throughout the rest of his life. It is here that we see him introducing more vivid, primary colours to his palette, his compositions also become increasingly structured, using simplified form and geometry to greater effect. The Branches (The Fergusson Gallery, Perth) painted at Cap d'Antibes in 1928 provides a good comparison with the present picture, and highlights his development of the compositional tools evident here. A female sitter emerges from the trees, her face simplified, and the work framed by the branches. However, a level of simplicity is achieved in the present work not yet reached by the artist at the time of The Branches.The influence of Cap d'Antibes on Fergusson cannot be understated, and following his last visit in 1960 he wrote:'...the sympathetic climate and surroundings give one liking – you get into a state that allows you to like people, flowers, skies, leaves, nearly everything natural and simple... no evident pressure.'(Exhibition catalogue, J. D. Fergusson in France, The Fine Art Society and Bourne Fine Art, London and Edinburgh, 2004)The present work is an accomplished example of all that Fergusson had taken from his long career. Although mask-like, unlike his early portraits, the sitter here is not foreboding, instead they are warm. There is a strong use of colour and the leaves surrounding the sitter are used as a clever framing device, whilst also linking the work to the natural world – running counter to much of the twentieth century avant-garde's interest in the city and mechanical world. This succinct, almost tender picture is a particularly successful rendering of one his favourite subjects, there is an easy balance of observation and stylised form, while the remarkable sparkling foliage and bright, pure colour are a synonymous with his heliotropic life in France.