It is Cadell's zest for life and the diversity of his subjects that makes him unique in the group of artists popularly known as the Scottish Colourists. Influenced by direct contact with the European avant-garde movements taking place at the turn of the century and with early knowledge of the work of Matisse and the Fauves, Cadell's paintings are confident and rich with colour. Celebrated for his stylish portraits of Edinburgh New Town interiors and his vibrantly coloured, daringly simple still life's of the 1920s, exceptional in British art of this period, he also captured the beauty of nature, especially in the evocative works portraying his beloved Iona.
