Modernist Treasure 🐈 “Spring 1947” – A Postwar Meditation by William McCance (Scottish, 1894–1970)

Signed Lower Right

🖼 Subject & Medium

Rendered in richly textured oil on canvas, Spring 1947 captures a tender and symbol-laden domestic moment: a mother cat curled protectively on a windowsill, nursing her kittens. The scene feels timeless—quiet, sacred, and deeply human in its emotional resonance. Daylight streams through parted curtains, gently illuminating the feline forms. Nearby, a pale animal skull rests subtly behind the mother—its quiet presence evoking memento mori, a reminder of life’s fragile boundaries. Dated 1947, in the immediate postwar period.

McCance transforms this modest tableau into a philosophical reflection on rebirth and survival in the aftermath of World War II. The work becomes an allegory of continuity, resilience, and the tender rituals that ground us.

The medium—oil on canvas—affords expressive impasto, giving the surface a tactile, almost sculptural dimension. Each brushstroke carries intention, building layers of emotional texture.

🧱 Composition & Technique

The composition is carefully choreographed. McCance uses the curved diagonal of the mother cat’s form to guide the viewer’s gaze—from the rhythm of suckling kittens, to the quiet shock of the skull, and finally toward the spring landscape beyond the window. Velvet curtains in green and brown flow vertically, counterbalancing the horizontal serenity of the cats.

A luminous, earthy palette includes:
🎨 Rich siennas and warm umbers for the cats’ forms
🎨 Mossy greens and charcoal greys for the drapery and interior
🎨 Soft sky blues, lavender, and wintry whites suggesting seasonal and spiritual transition

McCance’s brushwork is confident and expressive—textural and sculptural in places, atmospheric in others. His handling evokes post-impressionist warmth fused with the structural clarity of Cubism. The mother cat is slightly abstracted, emphasizing mass over detail, while the kittens are more gestural—capturing vitality and need. The stark white skull offers tonal contrast and spectral stillness within this otherwise nurturing scene.

This is a striking fusion of McCance’s early modernist discipline with the poetic sensitivity of his later period. There is stillness here—and quiet drama in every gesture.

✍️ Signature

Signed “W. McC” lower right—confirming its authenticity as an original work by William McCance.

👨🎨 About the Artist

William McCance (1894–1970) was a leading voice in British Modernism. Born in Cambuslang, Scotland, and trained at the Glasgow School of Art, he emerged as a pacifist during WWI—an ethical stance that shaped his life and art. Influenced by Vorticism, Futurism, and Cubism, his early work crackled with angular abstraction. Later, with his wife and fellow artist Agnes Miller Parker, McCance turned inward, crafting quieter works steeped in emotional and philosophical depth.

His paintings have fetched over $68,000 USD at auction, and his works reside in major collections.

📏 Framed Dimensions

60 cm Wide x 50.5 cm High x 3.5 cm Deep

🧾 Provenance

• From the Estate of William McCance

• Acquired via notable Scottish auction (label verso)

• Curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD

• Exhibited:

  • Reading Museum and Art Gallery, Reading, 11 June–2 July 1960, Cat. No. 49

  • Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, 11 Oct–25 Nov 1990

  • Lord Hill Museum, 4 July 2025

✅ Why This Work Stands Out

✅ Museum-exhibited and historically significant postwar piece
✅ Emotionally powerful meditation on care, fragility, and rebirth
✅ Created by a rebellious yet refined force in British modernism
✅ Rich symbolism—maternal instinct, mortality, and seasonal renewal
✅ Ideal for collectors of Scottish Modernism or allegorical 20th-century art
✅ A rare, poetic moment captured by a master of form and feeling

📦 Condition

Good overall condition for its age.

• Vibrant paint surface with no visible restoration

• Age-consistent wear including edge paint loss, craquelure, some foxing

• Frame stretcher lines visible; housed in a later contemporary wood frame with minor scuffs and scratches. Professionally preserved.

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