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Dimensions: 50 by 61 cm. ; 19 3/4 by 24 in.

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Provenance: Glasgow, Mr John Massey and thence by descent to the present owners

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Notes: The White Sofa is an important painting from the series of pictures of interiors painted by Cadell in the early part of the second decade of the twentieth century, a picture which rather than standing alone amongst the artist's work, fits neatly into a group of paintings in which Cadell investigated the bold contrasts of white and black and the vibrancy of shimmering light.

Cadell's white sofa appears in several of his greatest 'interiors' including The White Interior of 1914 and The White Room of 1915, in which the elegant figure of Mrs Don Wauchope is either posed beside it or seated upon it. In the White Interior and The White Sofa the porcelain tureen and the oval mirror are present and a cushion (of differing designs and colour) is placed in similar positions on the sofa. In The White Sofa, vases of pink flowers predict the still life arrangement in the foreground of The White Room and a related watercolour Roses (Fleming Collection). The sofa, the mirror and pieces of china from the same service as the tureen with its distinctive gold banding are all present. In Reflections of 1915 a female model leans against the arm of the sofa dressed in the same costume as the figure in The White Room. The White Sofa focuses attention on the vacated studio, although the presence of the model is suggested by the black cape casually thrown over the arm of the sofa as though Mrs Don Wauchope had just stood up and left the room moments before. This was clearly Cadell's intention and he made the same connection in his interior Miss Don Wauchope's Robe painted around 1915 which relates to The White Sofa. This series of paintings studied the contrasts of white and black with bold flashes of bright accent colour, the resulting sophistication and intelligence created by the careful arrangement of objects and colour.

The White Sofa was painted in the same year as Cadell's greatest interior Afternoon, and was painted in his new studio in Edinburgh at 130 George Street. Cadell had moved into George Street early in 1913 and his home and studio were admired for their tidiness and elegant decor which was in contrast to the studios of many of his contemporaries, including George Leslie Hunter whose studio was invariably shambolic. The period of 1912 to around 1915 was one of great activity for the newly formed Society of Eight, of which Cadell was a leading member along with others including John Lavery, Patrick William Adam, David Alison and James Paterson. The Society of Eight was founded to offer exhibition space for the artists and to offer a forum for shared ideas and in the interiors of Cadell, Lavery and Adam the shared interest in spatial arrangement is evident.