William Goodridge Roberts
William Goodridge Roberts
1904 - 1974
CAS CGP CSGA CSPWC EGP OC OSA PY RCA
William Goodridge Roberts was born in Barbados in 1904 to Canadian parents and grew up in Europe and Fredericton, New Brunswick before moving to Montreal to pursue his career. Roberts had an extensive academic background, attending the École des beaux-arts in Montreal and the Art Students League in New York before becoming the first resident artist at Queen’s University. In 1936, he moved to Montreal and founded the Roberts-Neumann School of Art with Ernst Neumann. Roberts joined the Eastern Group of Painters in 1938, which defined his status in Montreal’s modernist milieu. The following year he exhibited at the New York World's Fair. From 1939 to 1949, he established a pattern of teaching at the Art Association of Montreal School of Art and Design, except for the period he spent working as a war artist for the Royal Canadian Air Force between 1943 and 1945. Roberts spent his summers painting in rural Quebec, primarily in the Laurentians and Outaouais regions as well as the Eastern Townships.

As a charter member of the Contemporary Arts Society, the Eastern Group and an elected member of both the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour and the Canadian Society of Graphic Artists, Roberts was a permanent fixture on the Canadian art scene. In 1952, Roberts achieved international recognition when his work was selected along with David Milne, Emily Carr and Alfred Pellan for Canada’s first official presentation at the Venice Biennale. The following year, he furthered his experience abroad when he received a Canadian Government overseas fellowship to work in Paris.

After achieving national and international recognition, Roberts was selected as the first artist-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick in 1959, receiving an Honorary Doctor of Laws from them in 1960. Nine years later, Roberts was given a fine honour for a living artist, a retrospective exhibition by the National Gallery of Canada. Roberts is equally well known for his landscapes, portraits and still lifes, painted with strong expressionist brush-strokes and a poetic sensitivity.
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Still Life on a Green Tablecloth by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $69,000
William Goodridge Roberts
Still Life on a Green Tablecloth
32 x 48 in, 81.3 x 121.9 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000 CDN
Sold for: $69,000 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2005 on Thursday, November 24, 2005
Still Life with Irises by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $64,350
William Goodridge Roberts
Still Life with Irises
25 x 32 in, 63.5 x 81.3 cm
circa 1957
oil on board
Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000 CDN
Sold for: $64,350 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2010 - 1st Session on Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Still Life with Azaleas by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $48,875
William Goodridge Roberts
Still Life with Azaleas
20 x 24 in, 50.8 x 61 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000 CDN
Sold for: $48,875 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2006 on Friday, November 24, 2006
Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Artist's Palette by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $43,250
William Goodridge Roberts
Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Artist's Palette
32 x 48 in, 81.3 x 121.9 cm
1959
oil on board
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CDN
Sold for: $43,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Still Life with Flowers and Fruit by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $43,125
William Goodridge Roberts
Still Life with Flowers and Fruit
20 x 24 in, 50.8 x 61 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000 CDN
Sold for: $43,125 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2007 on Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Self Portrait by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $32,175
William Goodridge Roberts
Self Portrait
32 x 25 in, 81.3 x 63.5 cm
circa 1953
oil on board
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CDN
Sold for: $32,175 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2009 - 1st Session on Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Reclining Nude (The Artist's Wife) by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $31,625
William Goodridge Roberts
Reclining Nude (The Artist's Wife)
23 1/2 x 28 3/4 in, 59.7 x 73 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $12,000 - $16,000 CDN
Sold for: $31,625 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2007 on Friday, November 23, 2007
Daffodils & Red-Checked Cloth by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $31,250
William Goodridge Roberts
Daffodils & Red-Checked Cloth
36 x 45 in, 91.4 x 114.3 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $31,250 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Oranges, Daffodils and Easel by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $29,250
William Goodridge Roberts
Oranges, Daffodils and Easel
36 x 29 in, 91.4 x 73.7 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $29,250 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2012 - 1st Session on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Still Life with Pears by William Goodridge Roberts sold for $28,125
William Goodridge Roberts
Still Life with Pears
47 3/4 x 59 1/4 in, 121.3 x 150.5 cm
1963
oil on board
Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CDN
Sold for: $28,125 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, December 01, 2021