Man Laughing (Portrait of Tom Morris)

Samuel Peploe was one of the Scottish Colourists, a group of painters who brought vibrant Post-Impressionist colour to Scottish painting in the early twentieth century. This early 1902 portrait of Tom Morris — depicted laughing, an unusual choice for a genre accustomed to formal composure — belongs to Peploe's early period, when he was still developing the bold, Cézannian approach that he would refine in his mature work. The informality and psychological liveliness of the image suggest genuine friendship between painter and subject. The painting is held at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

The laughing figure is rendered with a directness and spontaneity that suits the informal mood. Peploe uses a warm, direct palette and confident, varied brushwork that captures the animation of laughter. The face is painted alla prima in the manner of his early portrait work.