AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA
1885 - 1969
Canadian
Gaspé, PQ
oil on board
signed and dated 1927 and on verso signed, titled and dated
12 3/4 x 15 1/4 in, 32.4 x 38.7 cm
Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD
Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave
PROVENANCE
G. Blair Laing Limited, Toronto
Private Collection, Vancouver
Amidst a career change, Arthur Lismer took refuge as he so often did in a painting trip, seeking out new locations to inspire his work. In 1927, the year he painted this fine sketch, Lismer would leave his post as vice-principal at the Ontario College of Art to lead an educational program at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Eric Brown, director of the National Gallery, encouraged Lismer to continue painting despite his growing commitment to teaching, even buying him a rail pass to facilitate his plein air excursions.
Gaspé, PQ retains much of the sweeping natural grandeur indicative of Lismer’s time with the Group of Seven. Yet here he incorporates figures, structures, boats and birds that were typically absent from Group landscapes. The dense cluster of weathered driftwood, seaweed and nautical miscellany in the foreground anticipates the tangled subjects of his later compositions. The eroding cliffs of l’Île-Bonaventure rise gently along the horizon in the distance, counterbalancing the busy shore and blanketing this exquisite oil sketch in a sense of calm, as Lismer captures the thick grey-blue overcast in smooth, confident brush-strokes.
Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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