Mary Fedden describes painting as，more than anything else，a‘passion’。She emphasises the word not only with due feeling but with a note of finality in her voice which cuts through the nonsense that too easily surfaces when people talk-or write-about art。

Mary Fedden(born 1915) is one of Britain's most popular living artists。This new book explores the artist's creative process in various different media-oil，gouache，pencil and collage。

While Fedden is often considered almost exclusively a still-life painter，still life is far from being her only preoccupation，as this book shows。Fantasy and imagination have always played a strong part，and this is particularly evident in her small gouaches。A quietly surreal，enigmatic streak runs through much of her work。

Fedden's collages are a witty and affectionate homage to the work of her husband，Julian Trevelyan。They lived，worked and travelled together from 1949 to 1988。The book re-emphasizes her debt to him，but also her independence，even during their early life together when he stimulated her move into modernism。

In an engaging text，which draws on numerous conversations with the artist，Christopher Andreae considers why Mary Fedden has such a popular following，looks at the English quality of her work，and talks about the commercialization of her art and her attitudes to the art market。Fedden is shown to be an original，serious and prolific artist，a draftsman of unusual sensitivity and prowess，and a colourist of power and subtlety。

Profusely illustrated with works from private and public collections，this is a book for Mary Fedden's existing devotees as well as newcomers to her work。

Thanks and Acknowledgement

Introduction

Mary Fedden：Themes，Variations and Enigmas

Chapter One

A Gallery of Mary Feddens

Chapter Two

Three Beginnings

A Poetical InteMade

Chapter Three

Fedden vis-à-vis Other Artists

Chapter Four

Painting and Other Media

Chapter Five

Still Life

Intedude-Flowers and Cats

Chapter Six

Figures-Memory,Imagination and Fantasy

A Bizarre Interlude

Chapter Seven

Pattein，Composition，Colour

Chapter Eight

Travels

Chapter Nine

Sidelines

Interlude-Familiarity Breeds Contentment

Chapter Ten

Repeats，Replications and Re-explorations

Final Thoughts

Index of Mary Fedden Works