Lilies and Lemons 2007

Mary Fedden created this still life painting, titled Lilies and Lemons, in 2007. Her paintings are characterized by vibrant colours, simplified forms, and a joyful approach to everyday objects, yet here the tones seem rather muted. She emerged as an artist in post-war Britain, at a time when there was an increasing interest in the accessibility of art. During the war, artists were employed to record the war effort and the everyday lives of ordinary people. After the war, there was a desire to continue this trend and make art more relevant to people's lives. In the postwar era, Fedden became known for her accessible and decorative paintings, which rejected the seriousness of abstract expressionism and instead celebrated the beauty of everyday objects. She took the still life tradition and made it more relevant to a contemporary audience. To gain a better understanding of Fedden's artistic motivations, and the culture of postwar Britain, we can look to institutions such as the Royal Academy and the New English Art Club, where Fedden exhibited her works, in order to gain a deeper appreciation of her place in the British art world.