A still life painting of a plate of sardines on a kitchen table by Frederick Roberts Johnson (1900–1986). Mixed media, including pastels, on papered board and signed lower right corner, 'RJ'.
 
The inspiration that Johnson took from Cubism and Surrealism at the time is evident in this stylised painting and so evocative of the 1930s Art Deco period. It is reminiscent of the works of A. M. Cassandre, another graphic artist producing commercial art at this time.
 
Frederick Roberts Johnson was a successful British artist and illustrator. In 1924 he and his close friend the artist Arthur Wragg visited Polperro in Cornwall, becoming enamoured with the fishing village. They went on to rent a cottage there every summer through the 1930s, becoming an integral part of its arts community. Johnson then acquired an old stone net loft in the village for use as studio. His illustrations featured prominently in publications such as 'Punch', 'Everyman' and 'Time and Tide' as well as advertisements that appeared on London buses and the Underground.
 
In 1942 he married Mimosa Wilson Cameron, an aspiring opera singer who he met in Polperro. They settled in the village raising two daughters there. In 1957 the family moved to Totnes but maintained a property in Polperro for weekends and holidays.