For the patient yet competitive collector of Painters-Eleven period abstract paintings, this is a rare work of art worth fighting for. While Anglo-Canada’s first-ever abstract artists group formally debuted as Painters Eleven in an exhibition held at Toronto’s Roberts Gallery in 1954, the catalyst for their formation happened in 1953, when William Ronald’s day job at the Simpson’s department store provided eight future members of the group with the opportunity to display their abstract paintings alongside high-design suites of furniture. An ad placed in the 19 October 1953 issue of The Globe & Mail described the installation of art in seven rooms on the fifth floor of Simpson’s: “Here abstract art and non-objective art is equally at home with traditional or 20th Century furnishings.”

Painting, 1953 is one of only two paintings by Jack Bush to be included in the Simpson’s installation, known as “Abstracts At Home.” Painting, 1953 was included in a bedroom display, having pride of place above the bed, while the other painting, Square Pattern (also known as Checkerboard), was prominently displayed in window no. 23 along Queen Street. Bush selected these works, each radiating Mid-Century Modern confidence through daring square patterns in bold colours – at once exuberant and dapper.

This painting is recorded in the artist’s first record book of paintings with another title: Barometer. Oftentimes, Bush’s initial titles were descriptive and either because of the context of an exhibition, or because he didn’t want to lead the viewer’s eye, he would later change the title of his painting to be much more abstract, and less literal. Could the two large vessel-like shapes in Painting, 1953 be inspired by storm glass barometers filled with coloured water? If not a representation of barometric instruments, the painting’s avant-garde look was, without doubt, a barometer of the times: bursting forward with creativity and modernity.

We thank Dr. Sarah Stanners, director of the Jack Bush Catalogue Raisonné, contributor to the Bush retrospective originating at the National Gallery of Canada in 2014, and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, Department of Art History, for contributing the above essay.