CGP CSGA CSPWC
1882 - 1953
Canadian
Sumach
oil on canvas
signed and dated 1935 and on verso titled Sumac and inscribed "#52" / "52" (circled) / "31" / "131" (circled)
18 3/8 x 22 1/4 in, 46.7 x 56.5 cm
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000 CAD
Sold for: $49,250
Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the Artist, Vincent Massey, 1935
G. Blair Laing Limited, Toronto, 1958
C. Gordon Smith, Winnipeg, 1959
G. Blair Laing Limited, Toronto, 1978
Private Collection, 1978
Masters Gallery Ltd., Calgary
Private Collection, Toronto
LITERATURE
David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Volume 2: 1929 - 1953, 1998, page 614, catalogue #304.55
Sarah Milroy and Ian A.C. Dejardin, David Milne: Modern Painting, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, reproduced page 172
EXHIBITED
Mellors Galleries, Toronto, 1935, catalogue #28
Wilson, Ottawa, 1935
Caufield, 1979
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, David Milne: Modern Painting, traveling to the Vancouver Art Gallery and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, February 2018 - January 2019
In 1933, David Milne settled at the isolated Six Mile Lake in Muskoka, Ontario, where he would remain for six years in a cabin he constructed himself. This was an exceptionally productive time for the artist, and would see him explore a focus on still lifes. The subjects were whatever material was at hand: plant life, artist supplies, glass jars, kitchenware and crockery. Sumac is an exceptional example of the paintings he was producing during this period, and demonstrates the overlap between Milne’s interest in landscape and in the objects in and around his cabin.
Sprigs of sumac are laid among and against the artist’s items, including books, a quill pen, and an inkwell. The still life seems like it could have been inspired by the landscape that surrounded Milne’s cabin, not only in its subject - sumac is endemic to Muskoka - but also in its composition; the arrangement of the books and inkpot recall a lakeside geography, while the branches recall trees bent by the wind. The subjects seem to float against a cool grey backdrop. The plants are remarkably rendered in a motley of deep blacks, washes of white and flares of red and burnt orange, with only the scantest remains of green. We get the sense that these are flickering in unseen firelight, the variegated leaves flashing strangely between highlight and shadow, with the entire scene taking on an autumnal glow.
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