Le Pavilion Bleu, 1926
Pearce served an apprenticeship in architecture before attending Chelsea School of Art in 1904, where he studied under William Orpen (1878-1931) and Augustus John (1878-1961), and later with the influential Walter Sickert (1860-1942). Pearce's work included figure painting, still lifes and landscapes. He also practised as a printmaker. This painting shows the particular influence of Sickert, with its freer brush strokes embracing some of the manner of the French Impressionists. The subject, the now fading 'Belle Epoque' society, reflects Pearce's own social background.
