Fine Canadian Art

Page 1

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

FINE CANADIAN ART

FINE CANADIAN ART NOVEMBER 25, 2010

V ISIT

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

www.heffel.com VANCOUVER

TORONTO

MONTREAL

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

ISBN 978~0~9811120~7~7

SALE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2010, 7PM, TORONTO

OTTAWA



FINE CANADIAN ART

AUCTION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2010 4:00 PM, CANADIAN POST~WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART 7:00 PM, FINE CANADIAN ART PARK HYATT HOTEL QUEEN’S PARK BALLROOM 4 AVENUE ROAD, TORONTO PREVIEW AT HEFFEL GALLERY, VANCOUVER 2247 GRANVILLE STREET SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30 THROUGH TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 11:00 AM TO 6:00 PM PREVIEW AT GALERIE HEFFEL, MONTREAL 1840 RUE SHERBROOKE OUEST THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11 THROUGH SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 11:00 AM TO 6:00 PM PREVIEW AT HEFFEL GALLERY, TORONTO 13 & 14 HAZELTON AVENUE SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20 THROUGH WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 11:00 AM TO 6:00 PM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 10:00 AM TO 12:00 PM HEFFEL GALLERY, TORONTO 13 HAZELTON AVENUE, TORONTO ONTARIO, CANADA M5R 2E1 TELEPHONE 416 961~6505, FAX 416 961~4245 INTERNET WWW.HEFFEL.COM

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE VANCOUVER

TORONTO

O T TAWA

MONTREAL


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE A Division of Heffel Gallery Inc. T ORONTO 13 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2E1 Telephone 416 961~6505, Fax 416 961~4245 E~mail: mail@heffel.com, Internet: www.heffel.com M ONTREAL 1840 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H3H 1E4 Telephone 514 939~6505, Fax 514 939~1100 VANCOUVER 2247 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3G1 Telephone 604 732~6505, Fax 604 732~4245 OTTAWA 104 Daly Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6E7 Telephone 613 230~6505, Fax 613 230~8884 C ALGARY Telephone 403 238~6505 C ORPORATE BANK Royal Bank of Canada, 2 Bloor Street East Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8 Telephone 604 665~5191, 800 769~2520 Account #06702 003: 109 127 1 Swift Code: ROYccat2 Incoming wires are required to be sent in Canadian funds and must include: Heffel Gallery Inc., 13 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2E1 as beneficiary. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman In Memoriam ~ Kenneth Grant Heffel President ~ David Kenneth John Heffel Auctioneer License T83~3364318 and V10~100531 Vice~President ~ Robert Campbell Scott Heffel Auctioneer License T83~3365303 and V10~100530

HEFFEL.COM DEPARTMENTS F INE CANADIAN ART canadianart@heffel.com APPRAISALS appraisals@heffel.com ABSENTEE AND TELEPHONE BIDDING bids@heffel.com SHIPPING shipping@heffel.com SUBSCRIPTIONS subscriptions@heffel.com

CATALOGUE SUBSCRIPTIONS Heffel Fine Art Auction House and Heffel Gallery Inc. regularly publish a variety of materials beneficial to the art collector. An Annual Subscription entitles you to receive our Auction Catalogues and Auction Result Sheets. Our Annual Subscription Form can be found on page 140 of this catalogue. AUCTION PERSONNEL Jacques Barbeau, QC ~ Corporate Consultant Paul S.O. Barbeau, Barbeau, Evans & Goldstein ~ Legal Advisor Audra Branigan, Elizabeth Hilson, Michelle Nowacki and Lauren Kratzer ~ Administrative Assistants Lisa Christensen ~ Representative in Calgary Kate Galicz ~ Director of Appraisal Services Western Division Andrew Gibbs ~ Director of Appraisal Services Eastern Division Jennifer Heffel ~ Auction Assistant Patsy Kim Heffel ~ Director of Accounting Lindsay Jackson ~ Manager of Appraisal Services Eastern Division Bobby Ma ~ Director of Shipping and Framing John Maclean, Anders Oinonen and Jamey Petty ~ Internal Logistics Alison Meredith ~ Director of Online Auction Sales Jill Meredith ~ Manager of Coordination and Reporting Kirbi Pitt ~ Manager of Advertising and Marketing Tania Poggione ~ Director of Montreal Office Nadine Power ~ Director of Condition Reports ~ on maternity leave Olivia Ragoussis ~ Manager of Montreal Office Judith Scolnik ~ Director of Toronto Office Ross Sullivan ~ Director of Public Relations Rosalin Te Omra ~ Director of Fine Canadian Art Research Goran Urosevic ~ Director of Information Services C ATALOGUE PRODUCTION Audra Branigan, Lisa Christensen, Dr. Franรงois~Marc Gagnon, Robert Heffel, Lindsay Jackson, Lauren Kratzer and Rosalin Te Omra ~ Essay Contributors Brian Goble ~ Director of Digital Imaging David Heffel ~ Catalogue Layout & Production Colleen Leonard, Max Meyer and Olivia Ragoussis ~ Digital Imaging Jill Meredith and Kirbi Pitt ~ Catalogue Layout Iris Schindel ~ Text Editing, Catalogue Production C OPYRIGHT No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systems or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, photocopy, electronic, mechanical, recorded or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Heffel Gallery Inc. P RINTING Generation Printing, Vancouver ISBN 978~0~9811120~7~7


3

MAP OF PREVIEW AND AUCTION LOCATIONS

AUCTION Park Hyatt Hotel Queen’s Park Ballroom 4 Avenue Road, Toronto

PREVIEW Heffel Fine Art Auction House 13 & 14 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto Telephone 416 961~6505

Hotel Telephone 416 925~1234

Fax 416 961~4245

Saleroom Cell 1 888 418~6505

Toll Free 1 800 528~9608


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 5 5 5 5 7 130 133 138 139 139 140 140 141 142 143

S ELLING AT AUCTION B UYING AT AUCTION G ENERAL BIDDING INCREMENTS FRAMING, CONSERVATION AND SHIPPING W RITTEN VALUATIONS AND APPRAISALS FINE CANADIAN ART C ATALOGUE N OTICES FOR C OLLECTORS T ERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS CATALOGUE ABBREVIATIONS AND S YMBOLS CATALOGUE TERMS H EFFEL’S C ODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT, ETHICS AND PRACTICES ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FORM COLLECTOR PROFILE F ORM S HIPPING FORM FOR PURCHASES ABSENTEE BID FORM I NDEX OF A RTISTS

4


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

SELLING AT AUCTION Heffel Fine Art Auction House is a division of Heffel Gallery Inc. Together, our offices offer individuals, collectors, corporations and public entities a full service firm for the successful de~acquisition of their artworks. Interested parties should contact us to arrange for a private and confidential appointment to discuss their preferred method of disposition and to analyse preliminary auction estimates, pre~sale reserves and consignment procedures. This service is offered free of charge. If you are from out of town, or are unable to visit us at our premises, we would be pleased to assess the saleability of your artworks by mail, courier or e~mail. Please provide us with photographic or digital reproductions of the artworks and information pertaining to title, artist, medium, size, date, provenance, etc. Representatives of our firm travel regularly to major Canadian cities to meet with Prospective Sellers. It is recommended that property for inclusion in our sale arrive at Heffel Fine Art Auction House at least 90 days prior to our auction. This allows time to photograph, research, catalogue, promote and complete any required work such as re~framing, cleaning or restoration. All property is stored free of charge until the auction; however, insurance is the Consignor’s expense. Consignors will receive, for completion, a Consignment Agreement and Consignment Receipt, which set forth the terms and fees for our services. The Seller’s Commission rates charged by Heffel Fine Art Auction House are as follows: 10% of the successful Hammer Price for each Lot sold for $7,500 and over; 15% for Lots sold for $2,500 to $7,499; and 25% for Lots sold for less than $2,500. Consignors are entitled to set a mutually agreed Reserve or minimum selling price on their artworks. Heffel Fine Art Auction House charges no Seller’s penalties for artworks that do not achieve their Reserve price.

BUYING AT AUCTION All items that are offered and sold by Heffel Fine Art Auction House are subject to our published Terms and Conditions of Business, our Catalogue Terms and any oral announcements made during the course of our sale. Heffel Fine Art Auction House charges a Buyer’s Premium calculated at seventeen percent (17%) of the Hammer Price of each Lot, plus applicable federal and provincial taxes. If you are unable to attend our auction in person, you can bid by completing the Absentee Bid Form found on page 142 of this catalogue. Please note that all Absentee Bid Forms should be received by Heffel Fine Art Auction House at least 24 hours prior to the commencement of the sale. Bidding by telephone, although limited, is available. Please make arrangements for this service well in advance of the sale. Telephone lines are assigned in order of the sequence in which requests are received. We also recommend that you leave an Absentee Bid amount that we will execute on your behalf in the event we are unable to reach you by telephone.

5

Payment must be made by: a) Bank Wire direct to our account, b) Certified Cheque or Bank Draft, unless otherwise arranged in advance with the Auction House, or c) a cheque accompanied by a current Letter of Credit from the Purchaser’s bank which will guarantee the amount of the cheque. A cheque not guaranteed by a Letter of Credit must be cleared by the bank prior to purchases being released. We honour payment by VISA or Mastercard for purchases. Credit card payments are subject to a maximum of $5,000, if you are providing your credit card details by fax (for purchases in North America only) or to a maximum of $25,000 if the card is presented in person with valid identification. Bank Wire payments should be made to the Royal Bank of Canada as per the account transit details provided on page 2.

GENERAL BIDDING INCREMENTS Bidding typically begins below the low estimate and generally advances in the following bid increments: $100 ~ 2,000 .............................. $100 INCREMENTS $2,000 ~ 5,000 ........................... $250 $5,000 ~ 10,000 ........................ $500 $10,000 ~ 20,000 ................... $1,000 $20,000 ~ 50,000 ................... $2,500 $50,000~ 100,000 .................. $5,000 $100,000 ~ 300,000 ............. $10,000 $300,000 ~ 1,000,000 .......... $25,000 $1,000,000 ~ 2,000,000 ....... $50,000 $2,000,000 ~ 5,000,000 ..... $100,000

FRAMING, CONSERVATION AND SHIPPING As a Consignor, it may be advantageous for you to have your artwork re~framed and/or cleaned and restored to enhance its saleability. As a Purchaser, your recently acquired artwork may demand a frame complementary to your collection. As a full service organization, we offer guidance and in~house expertise to facilitate these needs. Purchasers who acquire items that require local delivery or out of town shipping should refer to our Shipping Form for Purchases on page 141 of this publication. Please feel free to contact us to assist you in all of your requirements or to answer any of your related questions. Full completion of our Shipping Form is required prior to purchases being released by Heffel.

WRITTEN VALUATIONS AND APPRAISALS Written valuations and appraisals for probate, insurance, family division and other purposes can be carried out in our offices or at your premises. Appraisal fees vary according to circumstances. If, within five years of the appraisal, valued or appraised artwork is consigned and sold through either Heffel Fine Art Auction House or Heffel Gallery Inc., the client will be refunded the appraisal fee, less incurred “out of pocket” expenses.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE VANCOUVER

TORONTO

O T TAWA

MONTREAL

The Purchaser and the Consignor are hereby advised to read fully the Terms and Conditions of Business and Catalogue Terms, which set out and establish the rights and obligations of the Auction House, the Purchaser and the Consignor, and the terms by which the Auction House shall conduct the sale and handle other related matters. This information appears on pages 133 through 139 of this publication. All Lots can be viewed on our Internet site at: http://www.heffel.com Please consult our online catalogue for information specifying which works will be present in each of our preview locations at: http://www.heffel.com/auction If you are unable to attend our auction, we produce a live webcast of our sale commencing at 3:50 PM EST. We do not offer real~time Internet bidding for our live auctions, but we do accept absentee and prearranged telephone bids. Information on absentee and telephone bidding appears on pages 5 and 142 of this publication. We recommend that you test your streaming video setup prior to our sale at: http://www.heffel.tv Our Estimates are in Canadian funds. Exchange values are subject to change and are provided for guidance only. Buying 1.00 Canadian dollar will cost approximately 0.98 US dollar, 0.71 Euro, 0.62 British pound or 7.58 Hong Kong dollar as of our printing date.


FINE CANADIAN ART

CATALOGUE

Featuring Impor tant Works from The Estate of Mary Breckenridge A Canadian Philanthropist The Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton & other Important Private Collections

SALE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2010, 7:00 PM, TORONTO


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

8

101


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

9

101 WALTER JOSEPH (W.J.) PHILLIPS ASA CPE CSPWC RCA

1884 ~ 1963

Mamalilicoola, BC colour woodcut, signed in the margin and in the plate and titled, 1928 12 x 13 7/8 in, 30.5 x 35.2 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Texas

L ITERATURE : Duncan Campbell Scott, Walter J. Phillips, 1947, reproduced page 19 Walter J. Phillips, Wet Paint, undated, unpublished manuscript, Glenbow Museum archives, M~969~4, described page 104 Michael J. Gribbon, Walter J. Phillips, A Selection of his Works and Thoughts, National Gallery of Canada, 1978, reproduced page 67 Roger Boulet, The Tranquility and the Turbulence, 1981, page 101, reproduced page 100 Roger Boulet, Walter J. Phillips: The Complete Graphic Works, 1981, reproduced page 293 Maria Tippett and Douglas Cole, Phillips in Print: The Selected Writings of Walter J. Phillips on Canadian Nature and Art, The Manitoba Record Society, 1982, reproduced, unpaginated In 1927, Walter J. Phillips, one of Canada’s finest artists in the mediums of watercolour and printmaking, took his first trip to the West Coast of British Columbia, traveling to Alert Bay and its surrounds. Exploring outlying villages such as Mamalilicoola by boat, he was fascinated by these exotic landscapes with their humid, constantly shifting atmospheres. He found Mamalilicoola beautiful with its stunning view over layers of islands to the snow~capped peaks on Vancouver Island. Having hiked through the “green twilight” to the village, he emerged at the dominant feature of this large woodcut, which he described as “a tall and magnificent totem pole. It stood in front of a community house, the pediment of whose façade was carved and painted with an allegorical figure of the sun, flanked by two fishes.” Exploring the village’s totems, house~posts and zunuks, he found material for several days of sketching. The West Coast made a deep impression, and Phillips stated, “I regretted leaving the coast, and I long to return.” Beautiful and finely detailed, Mamalilicoola is considered to be one of Phillips’s most outstanding woodcuts. This woodcut was produced in an edition of 100.

E STIMATE: $12,000 ~ 16,000

102

102 WALTER JOSEPH (W.J.) PHILLIPS ASA CPE CSPWC RCA 1884 ~ 1963

Rushing River, Lake of the Woods colour woodcut, signed and titled Rushing River, 1920 6 1/2 x 7 in, 16.5 x 17.8 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Roger Boulet, The Tranquility and the Turbulence, 1981, listed page 223 Roger Boulet, Walter J. Phillips: The Complete Graphic Works, 1981, reproduced page 169 This print was produced in an edition of 50.

E STIMATE: $4,000 ~ 6,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

10

103

103 WALTER JOSEPH (W.J.) PHILLIPS ASA CPE CSPWC RCA

1884 ~ 1963

York Boat on Lake Winnipeg colour woodcut, signed, titled and editioned 15/150, 1930 10 1/3 x 13 3/4 in, 26.2 x 34.9 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Malvina Bolus, editor, The Beaver: Magazine of the North, Winter 1969, reproduced page 4 Roger Boulet, The Tranquility and the Turbulence, 1981, reproduced page 133 Roger Boulet, Walter J. Phillips: The Complete Graphic Works, 1981, reproduced pages 10 and 335 Maria Tippett and Douglas Cole, Phillips in Print, The Selected Writings of Walter J. Phillips on Canadian Nature and Art, The Manitoba Record Society, 1982, page 49, reproduced on unpaginated plate

For over a century, the York boat was an important way of transporting goods between inland trading posts and York Factory, at the mouth of the Hayes River on Hudson Bay. The construction of these sturdy boats was based on an old Orkney design derived from the Viking longship. With the advent of the railroad their use died out, but they are still celebrated in a summer festival called York Boat Days at Norway House at the northern end of Lake Winnipeg. In 1928, Walter J. Phillips spent a week on the Lake Winnipeg steamboat Wolverine and reached Norway House, sketching buildings, figures and boats along the way. He wrote, “This northern route was taken by picturesque brigades of York boats ~ big open boats propelled by sweeps when the wind was insufficient to fill the square blanket sail. There are none left now. The last lay rotting on the banks of the Nelson; the sturdy frame that withstood the shocks of a passage of the rapids a thousand times, now yielding to the action of the weather.” As with lots 101 and 104, this dynamic and historic image is considered to be one of Phillips’s finest woodcuts.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

11

104

104 WALTER JOSEPH (W.J.) PHILLIPS ASA CPE CSPWC RCA 1884 ~ 1963

Indian Days, Banff colour woodcut, signed, titled and editioned 98/100, 1950 10 x 14 1/2 in, 25.4 x 36.8 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Walter J. Phillips, The Landscape Painter, an unpublished manuscript, circa 1956 Roger Boulet, Walter J. Phillips: The Complete Graphic Works, 1981, reproduced page 565 Maria Tippett and Douglas Cole, Phillips in Print, The Selected Writings of Walter J. Phillips on Canadian Nature and Art, The Manitoba Record Society, 1982, reproduced, unpaginated Beginning in 1940, Walter J. Phillips was a summer instructor at the Banff School of Fine Arts, and moved to Banff in 1948. This print is based on

a three~day summer festival held by First Nations people. Phillips wrote: “For two or three days early in July the town is given over to the Indians. They establish a camp of forty or fifty tepees, gaily painted on their own grounds beyond the Buffalo Park. Every morning they parade through the town, dressed up to the nines, feathered and beaded… In the afternoons there is a rodeo on the grounds, and the tepees are open for inspection. Tribal dances in the open~air stadium at the Banff Springs Hotel fill the evenings.” As well as sketching the encampment himself, his students photographed and sketched a family group retained by the art school as sketching subjects. Phillips was internationally renowned for his woodcuts. He was known for his extraordinary technical expertise, sensitive line and use of wood grain for texture, as well as the Zen~like balance of his compositions, printed on fine imported Japanese papers. Indian Days, Banff, a large and colourful woodcut, is considered one of his best prints.

E STIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

12

105


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

105 JAMES EDWARD HERVEY (J.E.H.) MACDONALD ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA 1873 ~ 1932

Landscape Sketch, Northern Ontario oil on board, initialed and dated 1918 and on verso titled on the label of the Collection of Professor James Mavor, University of Toronto and inscribed Crawford Martin 23.6.28 in graphite 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, 21.6 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist in 1919 by Professor James Mavor, Toronto A wedding gift from James Mavor to Mr. & Mrs Crawford Martin, Toronto By descent to the present Private Collection, Nashville James Mavor was a respected and sometimes controversial professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. From 1892 until 1923 when he was the department’s chair, he radically re~worked the department’s operating structure. Mavor was an early figure in the emerging field of Canadian Urban and Economic Studies. He had close ties with government, and was the namesake for the James Mavor Morell character in George Bernard Shaw’s play Candida. Mavor considered himself an aesthete in the broadest sense, and was a patron, supporter, connoisseur and promoter of both performing and visual arts. He was a critical figure in the establishment of the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario) and the Royal Ontario Museum, and promoted the work of artists such as Homer Watson and Horatio Walker. He published many books and wrote for periodicals such as The Yearbook of Canadian Art. A member of the Royal Society of Canada, he died in 1925. Mavor acquired this beautiful early J.E.H. MacDonald sketch directly from the artist in 1919, the year after it was painted. It is a wonderful example of MacDonald’s work during a period when the Impressionist influence can still be seen in his brush~strokes, when Tom Thomson’s memory was strong in his heart and mind, and when he was beginning to see Canada through fresh eyes. At the same time, MacDonald’s talents as

13 a designer were sharply honed and right at hand. Each of these influences can be seen in this energetic work. MacDonald had seen work by the Impressionists in London, and was aware of both Canadian and American artists who painted in this manner. He explored Impressionistic techniques in the early years of his career, and the lessons he learned then, particularly those to do with colour, would underpin his work for the rest of his life. In Landscape Sketch, Northern Ontario, the mixing of paint directly on the work’s surface, the thickness of the paint and the dazzling effects of light and dark are indicative of this interest. In addition, MacDonald had been sketching with Thomson until Thomson’s untimely death in 1917. We can see similarities between the two painters in both the brushwork and palette of this work, and the energetic, almost frantic manner in which the work has been executed. Particularly notable is the use of black and very dark blues and greens, highlighted with brilliant oranges and yellows in electric touches here and there. Even the simple title, Landscape Sketch, Northern Ontario, evokes Thomson. It was painted the year after Thomson died, after which MacDonald’s style would change somewhat to explore design and rhythmic movement. Evidence of MacDonald’s skill as a designer is apparent in the uppermost tree limbs of the distant conifers. These are rendered with swift and simple brush~strokes that tell us much about colour and light, season and tree~forms in very simple terms. As well, the tree trunks of these same pines are depicted as a deft combination of dark and light paint. Thus Landscape Sketch, Northern Ontario marks a transition from one chapter to the next in MacDonald’s remarkable career. Despite the technical elements of Impressionism that we can identify in this work ~ compositionally and certainly in terms of subject matter ~ this work is dramatically different. It is a choice example of a fusion between the influence of the beloved art movement of Impressionism and a homage of sorts to the way Thomson and the artists who would become the Group of Seven saw the wild Canadian landscape. This was the fertile artistic ground from which the Group of Seven would grow, and this gem of a sketch is one of its early flowers.

E STIMATE: $60,000 ~ 80,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

14

106


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

106 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

St~Urbain oil on panel, signed and on verso titled, dated 1933 and inscribed Property of E. Hilliary Heward, wedding present from the artist, 1933 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, 21.6 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Given as a wedding present by the Artist to E. Hilliary Heward, Ontario By descent to the present Private Collection, Toronto

L ITERATURE : Naomi Jackson Groves, A.Y.’s Canada, 1968, pages 70 and 72, the related drawing entitled The Old Road Northward from St~Urbain reproduced page 71 David P. Silcox, The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, 2003, the related canvas Winter, Charlevoix County, in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, reproduced page 205 and the canvas entitled Grey Day, Laurentians, in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, reproduced page 204 Charlevoix County was one of A.Y. Jackson’s favourite painting places, and St~Urbain, located in this county, was a particularly striking subject. Naomi Jackson Groves writes of this view, “A.Y. has given many interpretations of this magnificent highland beyond St~Urbain. There are several versions of this particular vast stretch, with its characteristic hump of a small hill in the centre…The outlines of these ancient hills have been flattened and rounded by the age~long grinding and chiseling of glaciers, which have also built up huge moraines, and strewn the country with boulders.” Jackson painted this superb sketch on location, then later produced a graphite drawing of the scene entitled The Old Road Northward from St~Urbain. St~Urbain is an oil sketch which resulted

15 in Jackson painting two masterpiece canvases of this view ~ one entitled Winter, Charlevoix County, in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and another entitled Grey Day, Laurentians, in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It is an image both expansive and intimate, the warm details of Jackson’s quintessential horse and sleigh and rural buildings dwarfed by the sweeping landscape. The unique towering hill in this work is most likely the one referred to by Jackson while on a sketching trip to St~Urbain with fellow painter Randolph Hewton. His amusing comments offer insight into their painterly camaraderie and mutual military history in World War I: “There was a hill that must have been about twenty~four hundred feet high. Hewton tried to get up it in the morning, and came back and said: ‘There’s no end to that hill!’ But I got up it in the afternoon and made a sketch and a drawing, and a canvas later…Hewton and I were both old soldiers, so when I got back to St. Urbain in the late afternoon I told him that the 60th had to finish up what the 24th fell down on.” Jackson was known for his endurance in harsh weather conditions, and treated these winter painting trips like campaigns. With the passage of time, paintings such as these are even more precious for their important historical memories of these unique Quebec towns and rural countryside; by the late 1930s, St~Urbain’s old church was torn down, half the town destroyed by fire, and the historic thatched roofed barns were disappearing. Jackson had a great love for all that made rural Quebec so distinctive, and he imbued paintings such as St~Urbain with this warmth, imprinting his vision of it into the Canadian psyche. This painting was given to Hilliary Heward by Jackson, who was a friend of the Heward family, especially of her sister~in~law, artist Prudence Heward, and has remained in the family since then. He painted every autumn with Prudence, staying with her family at Fernbank in Brockville, and acted as an executor of her estate.

E STIMATE: $30,000 ~ 40,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

16

107


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

107 ALFRED JOSEPH (A.J.) CASSON CGP CSPWC G7 POSA PRCA 1898 ~ 1992

Street Scene in Magnetawan oil on board, signed, circa 1933 9 3/8 x 11 1/4 in, 23.8 x 28.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist By descent to the present Private Collection, Toronto

L ITERATURE : Paul Duval, A.J. Casson, 1951, the 1933 canvas entitled Anglican Church at Magnetawan, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, reproduced page 37 Paul Duval, A.J. Casson, Roberts Gallery, 1975, page 89 Joan Murray, A.J. Casson, Art Gallery of Windsor, 1978, unpaginated A.J. Casson first exhibited with the Group of Seven in 1926, at which time it was announced that he had been invited to be their seventh member. At that time, Casson was working as Franklin Carmichael’s assistant at the commercial art firm Rous & Mann Ltd. When Casson joined the firm in 1919, Carmichael became his mentor, taking the young artist on sketching trips and giving him invaluable criticism and advice. Casson, introduced by Carmichael, joined the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto, which attracted writers, critics, artists and art patrons. Here he met Group members J.E.H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson and Frederick Varley; their close ties ultimately led to his inclusion. It was Carmichael who, after a Sunday afternoon party at Harris’s, asked Casson if he would like to be a Group member. After Casson expressed his pleasure at the idea, Carmichael let him in on the fact that they had already decided the night before that he would become one of them! However, Casson was aware that he needed to forge his own identity within the Group. He only went on one official Group sketching trip with

17 Harris, Jackson and Carmichael in 1928, and he did not focus on Quebec, as he considered that Jackson had captured it so well. As he stated, “What was particularly mine were really the rural villages and houses. In a way it is a record of a disappearing society and a disappearing world ~ in fact, it has almost disappeared already. For me it was always an Ontario quest… I suppose it really began with my early impressions of Meadowvale as a boy and my first sketching trips to Lake Rosseau and Lake Nipissing where my uncle and aunt had a general store.” Casson expressed his admiration of Harris, “especially his studies of old houses.” However, as he stated, “Unlike Lawren’s, mine were lived~in houses. I always tried to get the feel of that even if I didn’t put a figure in.” Throughout his career, Casson continued to explore rural Ontario by rail and car, painting it in all its seasons and moods. This superb Casson painting has remained in the family since it was acquired directly from the artist. Casson would visit the present owner’s great~great~aunt at her family cottage on Ahmic Lake, and Magnetawan is the town at the mouth of the river leading into Ahmic Lake. Magnetawan proved to be a fruitful locale for the young artist, as he painted some of his finest works there, such as his magnificent 1933 canvas Anglican Church at Magnetawan, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. This exquisite plein air work is a view of the town, and has the same dramatic lighting, rich colour and taut composition seen in the National Gallery canvas. Casson’s earlier work was painted in this 9 x 11 inch format, and it is these 1930s works that firmly place Casson as the pre~eminent artist to chronicle village life in rural Ontario. Paul Duval compared Casson to well~known American painter Edward Hopper, and stated, “As often seen in his rural works, although no figures are in view, one senses their presence. This imbuing of structures with human overtones has its parallel in the work of the American artist Edward Hopper.”

E STIMATE: $40,000 ~ 60,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

18

E XHIBITED : Rothman’s Art Gallery, Stratford, Group of Seven Champlain College, Trent University, Peterborough, Rodrik / Johnston, March 27 ~ April 18, 1973 Through the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto and while working at the commercial art firm of Grip Ltd., Frank Johnston met other like~minded artists, and together they formed the Group of Seven. Johnston accompanied members on their historic 1918, 1919 and 1920 autumn trips to Algoma. This work is signed Frank H. Johnston, indicating that this is a rare Group of Seven period canvas, as Johnston changed his name to Franz in 1926, following his departure from the Group in 1924. Johnston’s predominant medium was tempera during this period, a factor in the rarity of this oil on canvas. His painterly and textural brush~strokes and use of accent daubs of colour are consistent with works produced during his Algoma period. A fine sense of design, with the influence of Art Nouveau, is exhibited in this beautiful canvas in the gracefully drooping tree limbs. Johnston used a rich palette ~ enlivening the blues and greens of lake and woods with bright autumn leaves and highlights of pink, peridot green and plum on the tree trunks. Clarity of light, luscious colour and fine, bold brushwork make Autumn Tangle an exceptional Group period canvas.

E STIMATE: $30,000 ~ 50,000

108

108 FRANK HANS (FRANZ) JOHNSTON ARCA CSPWC G7 OSA 1888 ~ 1949

Autumn Tangle oil on canvas, signed Frank H. Johnston and on verso titled on the Champlain College label, circa 1921 24 1/8 x 20 1/8 in, 61.3 x 51.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Ontario By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario

L ITERATURE : G. Blair Laing, Memoirs of an Art Dealer, 1979, a similar 1919 tempera entitled Woodland Tapestry, Algoma reproduced page 138 Rosalyn Porter, The Group of Seven and their Contemporaries, Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., 1980, a similar circa 1919 canvas entitled One Fine Day, Algoma reproduced, unpaginated


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

19 In 1921, Frank Johnston moved to Winnipeg to become the principal of the Winnipeg School of Art and director of its art gallery. By 1922, his presence was having an effect on the city and he was praised in the Winnipeg Free Press for his “artistic genius�, and for the inspirational effect he was having on the art school and on the arts generally. To escape the city, Johnston often rented a cottage on the shore of Lake of the Woods and spent summers painting there, as well as at Lake Manitoba. Late that year he exhibited paintings from these areas at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and in the following year had a large one~man show. His eye was drawn to beauty, and Clearing, likely painted at Lake of the Woods, with its gentle, wave~washed shores and graceful trees, reveals this attraction. Fluid brush~strokes define the wooded hillside and Johnston uses the board itself for highlights in this serene and lovely painting. The signature of Frank H. Johnston and the date of 1922 places this work in the time frame when Johnston was still a member of the Group of Seven.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000

109

109 FRANK HANS (FRANZ) JOHNSTON ARCA CSPWC G7 OSA 1888 ~ 1949

Clearing oil on panel, signed Frank H. Johnston and dated 1922 and on verso titled in graphite 13 1/4 x 10 1/2 in, 33.7 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, New York

L ITERATURE : Roger Burford Mason, A Grand Eye for Glory, A Life of Franz Johnston, 1998, page 43


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

20

110

110 KATHLEEN MOIR MORRIS AAM ARCA BHG 1893 ~ 1986

Craig Street, Montreal oil on board, signed and on verso titled on a label 12 x 14 in, 30.5 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Gerard Gorce Fine Arts Inc., Montreal Kastel Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Montreal

E XHIBITED : Women’s Committee, Picture Fund Exhibition, catalogue #99 Sir George Williams Art Galleries, Concordia University, Montreal, Women Painters of the Beaver Hall Group, October 6 ~ 30, 1982 Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal, Kathleen Morris, Retrospective Exhibition, September 2003, catalogue #50

In 1920, Kathleen Morris was part of Montreal’s Beaver Hall Group, and remained associated with the resulting network of women artists long after they left the studio. At a time when women were struggling to assert their professional status, this group of women, with their impressive lists of exhibitions and acquisitions by museums, was groundbreaking. From 1922 to 1929 Morris lived in Ottawa, then returned to Montreal, living near St. Joseph’s Oratory in a neighborhood she often painted. Well known for her fine urban scenes of Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa, Morris painted subjects such as marketplaces, downtown streets and cab stands which exude joie de vivre. Craig Street, Montreal has tremendous vitality; it is compressed, dense with buildings around which stream the streets which act as arteries of movement for cars, people and a streetcar. Morris emphasizes repeated patterns of squares ~ first in the windows, then in the rooftops covered in snow ~ which bring space into the density. Craig Street, Montreal, with its lush brush~strokes, strong colouration and lofty bird’s~eye view, is compelling in its visual richness.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 30,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

21

111

111 HENRIETTA MABEL MAY ARCA BCSA BHG CGP 1877 ~ 1971

Near Baie~Saint~Paul, Winter oil on canvas, signed and on verso titled Near Baie St. Paul, Winter and dated 1927 on the Dominion Gallery label 30 1/4 x 36 1/4 in, 76.8 x 92.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Montreal Born into a prosperous Montreal family, Mabel May was one of the founding members of the lively Beaver Hall Group in Montreal. After leaving the studio in 1924, core members including May continued in a supportive network. An active member of the art community, May was a founding member of the Canadian Group of Painters as well as a teacher,

giving classes at the National Gallery of Canada and elsewhere. In 1924, May traveled to Baie~Saint~Paul, a renowned painting place, along with A.Y. Jackson, Edwin Holgate and Clarence Gagnon. Near Baie~Saint~Paul, Winter is a stunning canvas, with its sweeping perspective over foreground snowbanks to the town nestled in the hills, overlooked by the distant Laurentians. May’s sensitive feeling for colour is particularly exquisite in the snow, contrasted with the bright tones of village houses. By the 1920s, the influence of the Group of Seven was discernable in May’s vigorous approach. Jackson’s sense of rhythm in the land can be felt in May’s rounded snowbanks, winding road and sloping roofs. This is a particularly fine Quebec winter scene, capturing the unique atmosphere of this village so prized by artists.

E STIMATE: $80,000 ~ 100,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

22

112

112 HENRIETTA MABEL MAY ARCA BCSA BHG CGP 1877 ~ 1971

Afternoon Picnic oil on canvas, signed and on verso signed, circa 1915 14 1/4 x 18 1/4 in, 36.2 x 46.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist By descent to the present Private Collection, Montreal Mabel May’s style was greatly influenced by her 1912 trip to Europe with fellow painter Emily Coonan. Visiting France, England and Holland, the two artists spent their time painting and studying the works in art galleries and museums. It was in France that they saw the work of the Impressionists; their brilliant use of light and colour and dappled, sun~drenched works had an immediate effect on May. She began to use

similar techniques in her paintings, exploring the effects of sunlight on fabric and faces, through leaves and on grass. Her works have an airy, delicate feeling, depicting charmed family moments and scenes of genteel refinement. She is recalled as a lively and happy person who took absolute joy in her work. May was a founding member of the Beaver Hall Group of painters; she was an important pioneer for women’s art in Canada, and was dubbed the Emily Carr of Montreal.

E STIMATE: $40,000 ~ 60,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

23

113 FRANCES ANN BEECHEY HOPKINS 1838 ~ 1919

No One to Dance With oil on panel, initialed and on verso titled, inscribed on the artist’s label No. 2 / Mrs. E.M. Hopkins, 3 Upper Bukeley Street and stamped Dominion Gallery, 1877 10 x 6 3/4 in, 25.4 x 17.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Ontario

L ITERATURE : A.K. Prakash, Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists, 2008, reproduced page 45 and a detail reproduced page 245

E XHIBITED : Dudley Gallery, London, UK, Eleventh Winter Exhibition of Cabinet Pictures in Oil, 1877, catalogue 371, label on verso

113

Born in England, Frances Beechey Hopkins came from a venerable line of artists ~ her grandfather was distinguished portrait painter Sir William Beechey and her father, Rear Admiral F.W. Beechey, was a trained draughtsman who illustrated published accounts of his travels in the Arctic. Upon moving to Canada in 1858, Hopkins was a pioneer as a female artist, painting directly from her own experiences. In 1870, she exhibited 26 works at the Art Association of Montreal’s annual exhibition ~ the first time a large body of work was shown by a woman artist in Montreal. Hopkins made an important contribution to Canadian history when she executed a remarkable series of works featuring voyageurs done on canoe trips, including the Red River Expedition of 1870, headed by Col. G.J. Wolseley, on which she was the only woman. Some time after 1870, Hopkins returned to London. This graceful and sensitive depiction of a young girl coming of age in Victorian society reflects an aesthetic that celebrated beauty. Her insight into the vulnerability of the girl in her transition into adulthood, although expressive of her times, is a universal theme for any generation.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 25,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

24

114

114 EMILY COONAN BHG 1885 ~ 1971

Still Life oil on canvas board, on verso inscribed on a label This still life I bought from Patricia Coonan about 1985 from the legacy she had from Emily Coonan’s death ~ Charlotte Tansey 10 x 14 in, 25.4 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Patricia Coonan Charlotte Tansey Private Collection, Toronto

L ITERATURE : A.K. Prakash, Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists, 2008, page 94

Emily Coonan’s formative studies were at the Art Association of Montreal, most importantly with William Brymner, who was her mentor. She had great admiration for the French Impressionists, and traveled to France, Belgium and Holland in 1912 with fellow artist Mabel May. After being awarded a National Gallery of Canada traveling scholarship in 1914, she was able to spend 1920 and 1921 painting in Europe. Another significant influence was Canadian Impressionist James Wilson Morrice, whose paintings she studied closely. Coonan joined Montreal’s Beaver Hall Group, and exhibited regularly in annual shows at the Art Association of Montreal and the Royal Canadian Academy. An early exponent of modernism, Coonan focused on the formal qualities of paint and space. This vibrant painting, with its soft colour field background and flattening of space, as A.K. Prakash writes, “teeters on the edge of abstraction.” Coonan strikes an assured balance between the physicality of the objects and the textured, expressionist strokes of paint. Still Life exudes the pleasure and beauty of the substance of everyday life, captured with fresh, bold brushwork and rich colour.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

25

115

115 JOHN WILLIAM BEATTY OSA RCA 1869 ~ 1941

Trees in Winter

116

116 WILLIAM HENRY CLAPP RCA 1879 ~ 1954

Road near Chézy, France

oil on board, signed and on verso inscribed WD Rutherford and certified by W.D. Rutherford, 320 Erie Ave. 13 1/4 x 10 1/2 in, 33.7 x 26.7 cm

oil on board, signed, dated 1907 and inscribed France and on verso titled and inscribed in graphite $35 and no. 11 13 3/4 x 10 1/2 in, 34.9 x 26.7 cm

P ROVENANCE :

Johnson’s Art Galleries, Montreal Galerie d’art Vincent, Ottawa Private Collection, Ontario

Private Collection, Ontario

E STIMATE: $9,000 ~ 12,000

P ROVENANCE :

E STIMATE: $12,000 ~ 15,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

26

117


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

117 EMILY CARR BCSFA RCA 1871 ~ 1945

Hazelton oil on board, signed, titled and dated 1912 and on verso stamped with the Dominion Gallery stamp 24 3/4 x 13 in, 62.9 x 33 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal Right Honourable Malcolm John MacDonald, PC OM, British High Commissioner to Canada, 1941 ~ 1946, London By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario The Right Honourable Malcolm John MacDonald was a British politician, diplomat and writer who had a long and distinguished career. Elected to Parliament in 1929, he became Under~Secretary for Dominion Affairs in 1931, and held numerous offices in Britain and Canada as well as abroad. He was Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs and for the Colonies, served in Winston Churchill’s coalition cabinet during World War II and was later his Minister of Health. He would serve as the British High Commissioner to Canada, Governor~General of Malaya, Singapore and British Borneo, Commissioner~General for the United Kingdom in South East Asia and High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in India. In 1963 and 1964 he was Governor, Commander~in~Chief and Governor~General of Kenya. He was Chancellor of the University of Durham from 1971 until 1981, President of the Great Britain~China Centre of the Federation of Commonwealth Chambers of Commerce and President of the Royal Commonwealth Society. MacDonald was a man of many interests, including oriental art and the English masters. His collection of Chinese porcelain, donated to the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology at the University of Durham, is among the world’s finest. He knew many of the members of the Group of Seven personally and collected directly from them or through Max Stern at the Dominion Gallery, building a significant Canadian collection that also included works by Tom Thomson and Emily Carr. This superb 1912 Carr painting has been in MacDonald’s family since he collected it during his tenure as British High Commissioner to Canada from 1941 to 1946.

27 Collecting Canadian art in 1941 through 1946 was opportune timing for MacDonald, since he would have had a selection of the very best examples to choose from, such as this magnificent Carr oil. Carr’s fascination with the art and design of British Columbia’s First Nations people was first seeded on a trip to Ucluelet on Vancouver Island in the spring of 1899. It is important to note how early this was for a woman to have traveled to this remote area. Struggling to gain acceptance of her determination to be an artist, Carr had been invited by a friend of her sister’s who was teaching at a Nootka reserve. Carr found imagery that enthralled her and people with whom she felt comfortable, which was, for her, an elusive situation. She later sketched at the Kwakiutl settlements at Alert Bay and Campbell River. Alaska was next, traveling with her sister Alice, and they visited Skagway and the old Tlingit village at Sitka. In 1910 she went to France, wanting to learn more about the new art that had caught the world’s attention. She returned to Canada armed with a dazzling new sense of colour and renewed optimism. Seeking to return to native subjects, in July of 1912 she took a steamer to the Skeena River area and then went by dugout canoe to the Gitxsan village of Hazelton. She found the traditional houses mostly abandoned and the people suspicious. She won her way into the village through tenacity and persistent friendliness, for while she felt ill at ease in the drawing room, she felt quite at home in places like Hazelton. Carr was a keen observer of poles, houses and clothing; she felt that she was creating a record of a passing way of life, that her works were anthropological in nature. It is important to note that she had arrived more than 10 years ahead of the anthropologist Marius Barbeau, who would later see her work and champion it in eastern Canada. Carr sketched in Hazelton and other nearby villages for the better part of July and August that year, creating some of her most exciting First Nations based work; Hazelton is one of her masterworks produced from this area. Her bright colour and energetic treatment of these subjects speak of the affinity and connection she felt for the First Nations people and their natural world.

E STIMATE: $300,000 ~ 400,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

28

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF MARY BRECKENRIDGE Eight paintings on offer at this auction are from the estate of Mary Elizabeth (née Carman) Hewer Breckenridge (1911 ~ 2010), who inherited the works from her second husband, Toronto~born Dr. John Goldie Breckenridge (1905 ~ 1986). John Breckenridge purchased these paintings, either directly from the artists in their studios or at the galleries and shows where the works first were offered for sale. He acquired the majority of his collection in the 1930s and 1940s. The works capture the spirit of the Canadian landscape that was so dear to John and his first wife, Ann (née Hambly) Breckenridge (1909 ~ 1980). The paintings graced the living room and dining room of the Breckenridge home that was built in 1941 on Douglas Crescent in Toronto. The Lawren Harris painting of Baffin Island hung in the place of honour over the fireplace in the living room of that home. All eight works have been in storage since 2000, when the house was sold after John’s second wife, Mary Hewer Breckenridge, moved to a seniors’ lodge in Ottawa. John Goldie Breckenridge was the son of James Campbell Breckenridge, a vice~president of National Trust, and Charlotte Eleanore Goldie, a member of the flour and lumber milling Goldie family of Guelph and Galt. John was a graduate of Royal Military College (1925) and the University of Toronto (1927). He earned his PhD from Cambridge in 1930. Dr. Breckenridge spent his working life (1931~1974) at the University of Toronto in the Department of Chemical Engineering, serving as Head of that department from 1960 to 1970. During most of that headship he was also Associate Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and a member of the University Senate. John, or “Jack”, as he liked to be called, had lifelong passions for landscape photography and for the northern Ontario wilderness. He was a member of the Toronto Camera Club; he enjoyed canoeing, chopping wood and growing long~stemmed roses. He was a perennial student of classical music, a supporter of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and had an extensive collection of classical recordings. He also enjoyed playing bridge and curling. His collection of Group of Seven paintings reflected all that he loved in art. As a boy, Jack enjoyed holidays at his parents’ summer home in Muskoka, but as an adult he yearned for a simpler, more remote and rugged place for himself. He found his special refuge on one of his canoe trips with his first wife, Ann. The place was on an island, about five miles by water from the town of Biscotasing, Ontario, on the CN line northwest of Sudbury. In 1941 Jack and Ann had a small log cabin built for them there. They spent every August at ‘Bisco’ with their family for as long as they were able. The forests and waters of that pristine area, beautiful but harsh, captured their hearts as surely as Canada’s wild places inspired the artists of the Group of Seven. We thank Catherine Breckenridge for contributing this biography.

Dr. John Goldie Breckenridge This portrait, by Arthur Edward Cleeve Horne, was commissioned by the University of Toronto on Dr. Breckenridge’s retirement as Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering in 1970.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

29

118

118 JAMES EDWARD HERVEY (J.E.H.) MACDONALD ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA 1873 ~ 1932

Spruce and Maple, Algoma oil on board, initialed and on verso signed, titled, dated 1920, inscribed #1644 / Not for Sale and stamped National Revenue Canada, Lacolle PQ 8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in, 21.3 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist by John Goldie Breckenridge, Toronto Estate of Mary Breckenridge

L ITERATURE : J.E.H. MacDonald, Papers, National Archives of Canada, MG 30 D 111, Volume 3

J.E.H. MacDonald was acknowledged by others in the Group of Seven to be a consummate sketcher. His personal papers include some notes titled “Sketching: The First Outdoor Sport”. In them, he describes his paintbox, which included “Colours: about eight” and his methods for the oil sketch, “Brush in the outline, then wash in, highlights strong.” He goes on in instructive tones, describing that one should “Give only the characteristic details essential to the composition. Speed helps in sketching just as in sprinting. Try to grasp the idea of your subject quickly, and then put it down before you can form any doubts about it…You will find a general trail in the lines and masses under varying details. Bring that out…Trees grow and clouds float but Art has a world of her own where science is not so absolute.” In this quickly executed Algoma work, MacDonald’s “idea” is presented without hesitation or doubt, and his “general trail” is one of balance and harmony, wherein the lyrical conifers serve to divide the deciduous masses, and vibrant colour and brushwork energizes everything.

E STIMATE: $100,000 ~ 150,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

30

119

119 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS

L ITERATURE : 1885 ~ 1970

Mountain, Baffin Island North, Arctic Sketch XII oil on board, on verso signed twice, titled variously on the board and on the artist’s label and inscribed with the Doris Mills Inventory #1/12 and #2 / #1685, 1930 12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist by John Goldie Breckenridge, Toronto Estate of Mary Breckenridge

Lawren Harris, “Theosophy and Art”, The Canadian Theosophist, Volume XIV, No. 5, July 15, 1933, page 130 Doris Mills, L.S. Harris Inventory, 1936, listed, location noted as the Studio Building, a drawing of this work illustrated by Mills page 24 David P. Silcox, The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, 2003, a similar 1930 canvas entitled Arctic Peaks, North Shore, Baffin Island reproduced page 387 and a similar 1930 oil sketch entitled North Shore, Baffin Island, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, reproduced page 395 The circa 1931 canvas entitled North Shore, Baffin Island II, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, reproduced at http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/ artwork_zoom_e.jsp?mkey=2479, accessed August 24, 2010


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

31

Sketches of the Arctic by Lawren Harris are objects of rarity and great beauty. He executed a relatively small number ~ only 38 Harris Arctic sketches are listed in Doris Mills’ 1936 inventory listing of works from the Studio Building. They are the final series of works in Harris’s explorations of the Canadian landscape. Shortly after the Arctic trip, he would stop painting entirely for several years, entering a period of self~questioning that would eventually lead him to turn to abstraction. Knowing this, it seems a logical development that Harris would go from the wild patterns of areas such as Algoma, busy with colour and form, dotted with lakes and carpeted with trees, to Lake Superior and the Rockies, both cleaner and more defined in terms of dominating shapes and geometric forms, then finally to the Arctic, a landscape abstracted by nature herself, where weather and time and the harsh climate have removed all extraneous detail, leaving only the essential form, pared of forest and flora. The resulting works are among his most beautiful, with a quality of serenity and stillness that is unparalleled in Canadian landscape painting. In his art making, Harris pursued truth and beauty above all. His quest for these goals was that of a messiah in its seriousness. He read, wrote and spoke on these ideas, and from his writings we know that he saw all the creative arts as being unified in this pursuit of truth and beauty. In 1933, just three years after the trip to the Arctic, he would publish an eloquent treatise on these ideas in The Canadian Theosophist, wherein he states, “And we may further find, within ourselves, in our highest moments, that which is indefinable and intangible…the true talisman whereby we may know that we are participating in a life greater and more enduring than the evanescent constantly changing lives of our personal selves. This, so far as I know, is the real experience embodied in, or contained in, all true works of art whatever, be it sculpture, poetry, music, drama, architecture or painting.” If we, like Harris, consider all the creative arts ~ sculpture, poetry, music, architecture, drama and painting ~ as one, we find that they are embodied in one another as a unified expression. Mountain, Baffin Island North, Arctic Sketch XII expresses all these things. First, we can see the mountain as a sculptural form, wherein Harris has molded the mountain for us, shaped and smoothed its surface so that we can almost feel its roundness. It is poetic in is brevity, with Harris’s limited Arctic palette of blue, white, brown and yellow rendered in his seamlessly blended brushwork. Architecturally, it is an example of the work of nature’s best builders ~ the mountains with their ever~changing elements of glaciers, snow and ice. Harris believed that the impression that his art made, the resonance that contemplating it with serious intent and opening oneself up to what the work had to give, would leave an impression in the mind’s eye of the viewer. This impression was critically

Lawren S. Harris North Shore, Baffin Island II , circa 1931 oil on canvas, 41 x 50 in, 104.3 x 127.2 cm National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Gift of the artist, Vancouver, 1960, Photograph © National Gallery of Canada Courtesy of the family of Lawren S. Harris

important. He likened this to music; it was not the score, the sheets of music that mattered, but the effect of the sound when the notes were played. So too, the effect of the painting on the viewer must be like music. Mountain, Baffin Island North, Arctic Sketch XII is a symphony. Finally, the drama of the work, its staged feeling, as if the curtains were just pulled back upon the glorious scene, still and perfect and ready to tell us something, dramatically lit with a suffused light that pushes the clouds away and reveals its form, is profound. Thus sculpture, architecture, poetry, music and drama are all embodied in this painting. This extraordinary work is the sketch which led to the masterpiece canvas entitled North Shore, Baffin Island II, now in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. While it is rare for an Arctic sketch to come to auction, it is even more rare for a sketch for a major canvas in Canada’s national art collection to be available.

E STIMATE: $700,000 ~ 900,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

32

120

120 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS

L ITERATURE : 1885 ~ 1970

Lake Superior Sketch oil on board, signed and on verso signed twice, titled and inscribed 25 Severn St., Toronto and Mr. Breckenridge. 21 Cluny Ave., circa 1922 ~ 1923 12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist by John Goldie Breckenridge, Toronto (prior to 1938) Estate of Mary Breckenridge

Bess Harris and R.G.P. Colgrove, Lawren Harris, 1969, the 1923 canvas entitled Clouds, Lake Superior, in the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, reproduced page 59 Dennis Reid, The Group of Seven, National Gallery of Canada, 1970, the 1923 canvas entitled Clouds, Lake Superior, in the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, reproduced page 184 Peter Mellen, The Group of Seven, 1970, the 1923 canvas entitled Clouds, Lake Superior, in the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, reproduced page 151


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

33

Jeremy Adamson, Lawren Harris, Urban Scenes and Wilderness Landscapes 1906 ~ 1930, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1978, the 1923 canvas entitled Clouds, Lake Superior, in the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, reproduced page 141 Andrew Hunter, Lawren Harris, A Painter’s Progress, The Americas Society, 2000, the related circa 1927 canvas Morning Light, Lake Superior reproduced page 34 David P. Silcox, The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, 2003, the 1923 canvas entitled Clouds, Lake Superior, in the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, reproduced page 339 The stark, rocky North Shore of Lake Superior is a landscape that has been scraped clean by time and nature. Windswept, wild and harsh, it spoke to the ideas that were forming in the mind of Lawren Harris when he first ventured there in 1921 on his return from a fall Algoma trip with A.Y. Jackson. The striking scenery profoundly affected Harris, and by May of 1922 he was ready to exhibit two works depicting the region in that year’s Group of Seven exhibition. In every aspect, these North Shore works were a marked departure from the Algoma works that had come just before them. Brushwork was smooth and blended rather than defined, form was pared down, devoid of detail, as simple and clean as the North Shore is. By 1922, Harris was a committed theosophist, and it was through his art that he felt he could communicate the wisdom and value of theosophical thinking to others, to persuade us of its superiority to other modes of thinking. In terms of the physical elements of the Lake Superior landscape, it was what it did not contain that Harris could use to convey his ‘artist as seer’ message. The North Shore of Lake Superior was completely aligned with his increasingly mystical vocabulary. Harris wished to convey the experience contained within the scene, rather than the conventional picturesque qualities of the scene or any extraneous detail. Rather, it was the mystical experience that he, as artist~seer ~ more attuned to these higher meanings and hidden truths than others were ~ had when first viewing it. Now, when we view these works with some understanding of what Harris was seeking in painting them, we too can be moved by the mystical nature of their greater truths if we allow it. This was Harris’s wish. In 1923, Harris would paint the dramatic and stunning canvas Clouds, Lake Superior, in the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery. This superb painting is the oil sketch for that work, and in it we can see Harris’s increasingly mystical vision unfolding. Harris would continue to explore this basic composition in later works, including Morning Light, Lake Superior, in the collection of the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph. In Lake Superior Sketch, we find ourselves looking out over a jutting point of land that protrudes into the waters of the lake. There is very little in terms of reference points in the work ~ no distinct peaks, no man~made structures, no lighthouses ~ only land, sky and water. These elements appear to exist in a supernatural relationship to one another; the land seems to float, the clouds hover unnaturally and cast shadows on the water. The main cloud, dark grey and triangular, does not seem

Lawren S. Harris Clouds, Lake Superior, 1923 oil on canvas, 40 3/8 x 50 1/4 in, 102.5 x 127.6 cm Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery Gift of Mr. John A. MacAulay, QC, Accession #G~56~16 Photograph credit: Ernest Mayer, Winnipeg Art Gallery Courtesy of the family of Lawren S. Harris

threatening. Rather, with the sky as it presses down on the land in curved bands of grey, it seems to wish to impart something to us. This is not merely portraying stormy weather; this is a powerful work of mystical intent. Against this vast expanse, we feel small and insignificant. There is nothing to mark the place of humanity in this world. There is only the natural world, stripped to the elements of earth, air and water. But most dramatic in this work, and beautifully expressed in the canvas that Harris painted based on it, is the light. From an elusive source, the light casts a brilliant white sheen on the water, vibrating and charged. This spiritual light is one of the central elements of Harris’s Lake Superior experience. Harris would soon begin to title his works with only a number system, removing our one last reference point and disabling our wish to place and order his works by attaching them to a concrete place or time. These were not important details for Harris, but were barriers to thinking with our overall being, as he wished us to. Mundane thinking required place and time references, sublime thinking did not. By allowing ourselves to be open to these mystical ideas, to experience the phenomenon of the experience as communicated to us by this scene, we can leave mundane thinking behind and move forward with Harris on an enlightened journey.

E STIMATE: $300,000 ~ 500,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

34

121


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

121 FRANKLIN CARMICHAEL CSPWC G7 OSA RCA

1890 ~ 1945

September, Mount Carmichael oil on panel, signed and on verso signed, titled and inscribed 21 Cameron Ave., Lansing and OSA and on the frame F. Carmichael, circa 1935 10 x 12 in, 25.4 x 30.5 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist by John Goldie Breckenridge, Toronto Estate of Mary Breckenridge The Precambrian La Cloche hills were once higher than the Canadian Rockies. Now low and rounded, scraped by millennia of moving glacial ice, they have been left pock~marked with numerous hollows that hold melt~water lakes. The bright white of the rocks against the green of forests and blue of lakes is a unique colour combination in the Canadian landscape palette, quite distinct, and for Franklin Carmichael, visually exciting. The La Cloche Mountains are in what is now Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario, and were one of the Group of Seven’s original sketching haunts. Carmichael, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Lawren Harris and J.E.H. MacDonald all worked there, intrigued by the striking scenery and rolling landscape. It is a region ripe with history; the name La Cloche comes from the French word for bell, as the distinctive white quartzite rocks found in the region ring loudly when struck with an object. It is thought that this ringing effect was used as a signaling tool by First Nations people to contact one another over far~reaching distances. Additionally, this white quartzite is crystalline in nature, and thus sparkles in the sun, and in the right conditions reflects light brilliantly. Carmichael, who had sketched in Algoma, on the North Shore of Lake Superior and in the Ottawa Valley, found these bright white rocks very appealing. He was interested in the potential of white in his work. In his watercolours, he mastered the use of negative space ~ the empty areas on

35 the paper that we read as white ~ and he used white pigment prominently in his oils. He was a bold painter, influenced by Tom Thomson, with whom he had shared a studio over the winter of 1914 ~ 1915. Carmichael’s success as a commercial designer and illustrator enabled him to support his family as well as work as a fine artist. He managed to balance the two for the most part, with sketching time set aside while on holidays and at his home in the rural Ontario town of Lansing, now Willowdale. Carmichael’s attraction to the La Cloche hills led him to build a cabin there in 1935. This base provided him with easy access to his favourite Canadian sketching grounds. He would depict vistas of the rolling hills in summer and fall, patterned with colour and brilliant under skies of both fine and poor weather; whether cloudy, preparing to rain or whipped by wind. His panoramic views of the area capitalize on the scattered lakes and vast open skies. This ribboned depiction of Mount Carmichael is alive with pattern and dancing colour. The black areas contrast nicely with the white of the famous quartzite, and these are set off by the blue sky. The work is divided almost exactly in half, with the undulating land holding its own against the cloud~dotted sky. The patterning of the clouds is quite interesting; some are depicted as angled dots of bright white, others are elongated bands of yellowish white. This variety of cloud form and colour balances nicely with the busyness of the landscape below ~ neither overwhelms the other. La Cloche’s history is inextricably linked with the Group of Seven. Jackson in particular would champion community efforts to set aside the area as a park in 1959, and today it is widely visited and recognized as an important inspirational place for the Group.

E STIMATE: $150,000 ~ 250,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

36

122


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

122 FRANKLIN CARMICHAEL CSPWC G7 OSA RCA 1890 ~ 1945

Port Coldwell oil on board, on verso titled, dated 1928 and certified by Ada L. Carmichael 10 x 12 in, 25.4 x 30.5 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Estate of the Artist by John Goldie Breckenridge, Toronto Estate of Mary Breckenridge

L ITERATURE : Megan Bice, Light & Shadow: The Work of Franklin Carmichael, 1990, page 48 In 1921, Lawren Harris and A.Y. Jackson were the first two members of the Group of Seven to travel to the North Shore of Lake Superior. So impressed were they by the untouched quality of the land that Harris invited member Franklin Carmichael to return with him three separate times in 1925, 1926 and 1928. On these trips, both Carmichael and Harris produced some of the finest examples of work from the Group period. The last trip of 1928 saw A.J. Casson join the older, established artists Harris, Jackson and Carmichael. Casson shared a tent with Carmichael on this sketching trip, and remembers himself fondly as “the kid” whose work would often be critiqued. Harris had an extremely strong influence on Carmichael’s work. It was this period above all others that demonstrates this tie most closely. “The sketches of 1928 show Carmichael’s closest approach to the style of

37 Lawren Harris,” writes Megan Bice. She indicates that the sketches of Port Coldwell were “unique, experimental responses to Harris’ theories.” Harris was involved with theosophy and its esoteric theories regarding landscape. However, regarding Carmichael, Bice comments that he “never seems to have attained (nor wanted to attain) a transcendental interpretation of nature. He seems to have been too aware of the present reality; as Casson pointed out ‘he loved the outdoors too much.’ ” These years between 1925 and 1928 were formative for Carmichael who, alongside Harris, continued to refine and perfect his technique. By 1928, the year Port Coldwell was painted, he was compositionally faultless. At this time Carmichael’s handling was concise and his use of light effects was refined. The presence of light breaking through the clouds in a showering manner heightens the dramatic impact of the land masses that frame the water. Port Coldwell, though a small sketch, has the presence of a canvas and the expansive viewpoint of a panoramic photograph. The artist never tired of finding the perfect aerial perspective from which to paint, in order to lend his sketches the feeling of infinite space that is so inherent in this work. The Group of Seven shaped their own vision of how Canadian landscapes from coast to coast could be symbolized in art. Of all their travels, it could be argued that it was the Lake Superior trips and the iconic sketches and canvases that came out of them that represent this spirit and vision most comprehensively. It would be these journeys of friendship, adventure and experiencing both the splendour and hardship of the Canadian wilderness that brought about some of the most beautiful examples of Canadian art. Port Coldwell is such a painting.

E STIMATE: $150,000 ~ 250,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

38

123


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

123 FRANKLIN CARMICHAEL CSPWC G7 OSA RCA

1890 ~ 1945

Summer Landscape oil on board, on verso dated 1936 and certified by Ada L. Carmichael 9 7/8 x 11 7/8 in, 25.1 x 30.2 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Estate of the Artist by John Goldie Breckenridge, Toronto Estate of Mary Breckenridge

L ITERATURE : John A. B. McLeish, September Gale: A Study of Arthur Lismer and the Group of Seven, 1955, page 25 Summer Landscape is a dramatic oil that shows us the many sides of Franklin Carmichael as an artist. It is a charged work, alive with energetic brushwork, yet harmonious in subdued colour. Depicting a garden~like landscape of small plants growing valiantly in the short summer season, this work is likely to be have been painted in the La Cloche hills, which Carmichael visited first in 1926, and which were a continuing source of inspiration for him, so much so that he built a cabin there in 1935. In 1932, he stopped working as a commercial designer and thus had more time to paint. The works of the late 1930s, of which this is a prime example, are filled with energy and feeling. Carmichael’s talent as an illustrator is clear in the way he takes us into this superb painting. By placing a small rounded rock on very bottom edge of the work, he creates an inviting feeling, as if we are about to step off the rock and walk forward

39 and down the hill into the valley, largely hidden below us but framed by blue hills. We are high above the rest of the landscape and look down on things from a position of advantage. Compositionally, it is indeed an inviting scene. Is there a lake just out of view beyond the first low ridge? In terms of colour, the work is understated, yet the small range of colours that Carmichael uses is accented by the amount of unpainted board that shows through the work in the foliage, rocks, distant hills and valley. The board is a greyish~white, very close tonally to the greys that Carmichael uses, and similar to the colour used for the clouds in the sky. The unpainted board reads through the work as white accents. Carmichael’s abilities as a watercolourist ~ wherein he mastered the use of negative spaces ~ are also demonstrated in his oils. He was, as John McLeish wrote, “an extraordinary craftsman in commercial art, a modest man whose gift for design was so pronounced as to be almost a handicap.” Summer Landscape is not unlike the work of David Milne in feeling, with much attention being focused on a small region of richly patterned life, and the scene has a vibrating energy. The areas of scrubby brush that grow in the hollows between the rocks, where soil gathered over thousands of years and water would have collected to nourish these plants, roll into the dark hills in easy waves of movement. The surface of the land, the way it would feel to walk upon is almost palpable ~ we can imagine the difficulty of navigating in such terrain, terrain that Carmichael loved and frequently explored. This is one of the great pleasures of viewing works by the artists of the Group of Seven, and a reason they are so beloved by Canadians ~ they take us to places we have not been, and for those that have been there, they take us back again.

E STIMATE: $150,000 ~ 250,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

40

124

124 ALFRED JOSEPH (A.J.) CASSON CGP CSPWC G7 POSA PRCA

1898 ~ 1992

Still Morning ~ Bedard Pond oil on board, signed and on verso signed on the artist’s label and titled on the artist’s label and on the Roberts Gallery label 12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE :

125

125 ALFRED JOSEPH (A.J.) CASSON CGP CSPWC G7 POSA PRCA 1898 ~ 1992

High Falls on the York River oil on board, signed and on verso signed on the artist’s label and titled on the board, on the artist’s label and on the Roberts Gallery label, circa 1954 12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm

Roberts Gallery, Toronto John Goldie Breckenridge, Toronto Estate of Mary Breckenridge

P ROVENANCE :

In 1926, A.J. Casson was invited to join the Group of Seven after the earlier departure of Frank Johnston. At Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club, he had listened to their rousing tales of painting trips to Algoma, Georgian Bay, Algonquin Park and their inspiration in the Ontario north, and now he was a part of them. In the paintings of the Group, consciously or unconsciously, a spiritual quality often entered their landscapes ~ such as Lawren Harris in his bleak and powerful images of Lake Superior. In Casson’s work, it was a more subtle emanation. Still Morning ~ Bedard Pond is a meditation on the tranquil water and its mirror~like reflections of the sky and a hillside flushed with the yellow and orange glow of autumn. The curved points of the land below Casson’s painting place on the hillside echo the rounded hills beyond, and with this repetition of shape comes a sense of symmetry. Casson worked in a number of styles over the years, sometimes painting the elements of the scene in a cubist manner, but in this work, took an entirely natural approach, reinforcing the soft tranquility of this beautiful scene.

L ITERATURE :

E STIMATE : $20,000 ~ 30,000

Roberts Gallery, Toronto John Goldie Breckenridge, Toronto; Estate of Mary Breckenridge Paul Duval, A.J. Casson: My Favourite Watercolours, 1919 to 1957, 1982, page 130, similar 1954 watercolour entitled Below High Falls, York River reproduced page 130 The youngest member of the Group of Seven, A.J. Casson carved out his identity in his paintings of southern Ontario villages and landscapes of the Ontario northland. Casson often painted the York River and did a number of paintings of its waterfall, High Falls. In reference to a similar watercolour, Casson wrote, “The York River, in northern Ontario, leaves Lake Baptiste and flows through the town of Bancroft. It was while staying at a cottage on Lake Baptiste, during the summer of 1954, that I sketched this watercolour of the debris that always accumulates at the foot of a falls.” This location crackles with vitality, with its foaming water and jumble of drifted wood against strong rock formations. Both the falls and the rock formations slant to the left, while the rock ledges behind tilt downward toward the water, creating a sense of movement in rock as well as water. In this rugged sketch, true to the Group’s intent, in the power of water to change the landscape, and in the rock formations eroded and sculpted by it, Casson defines the essence of rawness in the Ontario north.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 30,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

41

PROPERTY OF VARIOUS COLLECTORS

126

126 ARTHUR LISMER AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA

1885 ~ 1969

McGregor Bay ~ Georgian Bay oil on panel, signed and dated 1922 and on verso signed and titled twice, as MacGregor [sic] Bay ~ Georgian Bay in graphite on the board and as Entrance to Vincents Bunk, McGregor Bay, Ontario on a label 9 x 12 in, 22.9 x 30.5 cm P ROVENANCE : Roberts Gallery, Toronto, label on verso with the 29 Grenville Street address By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Lois Darroch, Bright Land, A Warm Look at Arthur Lismer, 1981, page 15

From Arthur Lismer’s first sight of Georgian Bay in 1913 at Group of Seven patron Dr. James MacCallum’s cottage, he was shaken by its rugged beauty. Only 100 miles from pastoral southern Ontario, he could immerse himself in the elements of this unique landscape ~ its radiant atmosphere, distinctive rocky islets and shores crowned by sturdy windblown pines. He could not forget it, and returned again and again up into the late 1940s, to his “happy isles”, often staying at McGregor Bay. This 1922 sketch of a shore view of wind~shaped pines across the Bay to low hills beyond under a cloud~scudded sky is a classic Group of Seven period composition. It recalls Lismer’s famous 1921 canvas A September Gale, Georgian Bay, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. The central image of a tree withstanding all weather, carving out its existence from the stony soil, came to represent something symbolic about the pioneering Canadian psyche. Images such as A September Gale forged Lismer’s place in art history, and Georgian Bay, whether still or stormy, was his defining painting place.

E STIMATE: $50,000 ~ 70,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

42

127

127 CARL FELLMAN SCHAEFER CGP CSGA CSPWC OC OSA PDCC RCA RSA 1903 ~ 1995

White Pines oil on canvas, signed and dated 1933 and on verso titled on the Ontario Society of Artists’ exhibition label and inscribed by the artist Painted at 207 St. Germain Ave., Toronto, 1933 20 x 24 1/4 in, 50.8 x 61.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Estate of the Artist By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario

L ITERATURE : Margaret Gray, Margaret Rand and Lois Steen, Carl Schaefer, 1977, page 11

E XHIBITED : Ontario Society of Artists, Annual Exhibition, 1933

Carl Schaefer was of a generation of artists influenced by the Group of Seven. His instructors at the Ontario College of Art were Group members J.E.H. MacDonald, whom he credited with teaching him the elements of design, and Arthur Lismer. Schaefer exhibited with the Group in 1928, and assisted Lismer, MacDonald and A.Y. Jackson in their projects. In 1926, Schaefer, on a painting trip to the north country of Ontario, was struck by its pine trees, stating, “there were these stark pines…the Group of Seven in the 1920s…rubbed off on me, but I must say that I was influenced not from a technical point of view but from another point of view, of broadness, design, a new conception of our country.” In White Pines, Schaefer manifests the promise of this new vision. The painting has a formal, solemn beauty, with its deep green and brown tones, solidity of form and strong patterning of curved and gnarled branches culminating in stylized whorls of foliage. Schaefer backlights the pines with a radiant aurora of a sky. It is a superb and unique canvas, one which conveys the still, profound presence of this wild country.

E STIMATE: $25,000 ~ 35,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

43

128

128 JAMES EDWARD HERVEY (J.E.H.) MACDONALD

Lisa Christensen, The Lake O’Hara Art of J.E.H. MacDonald and Hiker’s Guide, 2003, page 2

Grip Ltd. to paint full time, he purchased a lush, treed property in Thornhill, Ontario. He named it Four Elms and hosted numerous artist friends there. His famous painting The Tangled Garden began as a sketch in the back garden. In 1917, when MacDonald was struggling to make ends meet, he was forced into, as his son described it, “a rotten rickety house at York Mills,” renting out Four Elms for income. It was a difficult time; MacDonald collapsed and was bedridden immediately after the move. The MacDonalds rented Four Elms to all the members of the Group of Seven at times, except for A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris, but were able to move back in 1925. In 1929, successful, famous and full of renewed health and vigour, MacDonald sketched this small corner of a Thornhill field. His affection for this place and the simple beauty of a stately tree is characteristic of MacDonald. This work was chosen by his wife Joan to be a wedding gift in 1931 ~ Thornhill being a place of great personal significance, the gift was all the more meaningful.

This charming little sketch is an interesting window into the life of one of Canada’s most revered painters. In 1912, when J.E.H. MacDonald left

E STIMATE: $16,000 ~ 20,000

ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA 1873 ~ 1932

In Thornhill Fields oil on board, signed and dated 1929 and on verso signed, titled and dated 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, 21.6 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : A wedding gift from the Artist’s wife, Joan MacDonald, June 6, 1931 By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario

L ITERATURE :


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

44

129


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

129 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS 1885 ~ 1970

Houses, Winter, City Painting V oil on canvas, signed and on verso signed, titled, inscribed with the artist’s symbol and stamped Lawren Harris, LSH Holdings Ltd 187, circa 1920 ~ 1921 42 3/4 x 50 3/8 in, 108.6 x 127.9 cm P ROVENANCE : Fannin Hall Collection, Vancouver Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., Vancouver Private Collection, London

L ITERATURE : A.Y. Jackson and Sydney Key, Lawren Harris Paintings 1910 ~ 1948, The Art Gallery of Toronto, 1948, listed page 33 Rosalyn Porter, The Group of Seven and Their Contemporaries, Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., 1980, reproduced, unpaginated Roger Boulet, The Canadian Earth, 1982, reproduced page 97 Gregory Betts, Lawren Harris: In the Ward, His Urban Poetry and Painting, 2007, page 18

E XHIBITED : The Art Gallery of Toronto, Lawren Harris Paintings 1910 ~ 1948, October ~ November 1948, traveling to the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, titled as Houses, Winter, catalogue #20 The Elsie Perrin Williams Memorial Art Museum, London, Ontario Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., Vancouver, The Group of Seven and Their Contemporaries, February 29 ~ March 22, 1980, catalogue #55 Lawren Harris’s urban paintings include depictions of stately homes, run~down neighbourhoods, derelict harbours, bright summer cottages and tranquil streets. Together they comprise a strong visual record of Toronto’s architecture in the early part of the 20th century. His Toronto works depict the well~heeled homes of the affluent, the run~down area of the Ward, Victorian homes in the older parts of the city, and the factories and warehouses that were symbols of the city’s post~war growth. Many of these images reflect Harris’s growing social awareness, and in them we can see Harris posing social questions such as the unfairness of one’s birth into a life of wealth or poverty, the class system of society, his own circumstances of affluence versus another’s life filled with labour. Houses, Winter, City Painting V is a complex work. At first we notice the fine colour, which is striking and so perfectly balanced, with bright white snow cast in blue shadow, setting off the yellow, red and orange themes of the dwellings we see. Then we notice the surface treatment, which is jaunty and slick and shows the influence of the Impressionist movement. The scene is beautifully painted and architecturally interesting.

45 Overlaying all of this is the almost palpable stillness of the work; it has the calmness of a wilderness landscape rather than an urban one. It is utterly and perfectly quiet, with a cloud~filled sky rolling in the distance. The shoveled pathway and lit windows are the only indications of human activity in or around these quiet, speechless homes. Harris’s Toronto houses are a fascinating part of his oeuvre, containing elements of Impressionism, glimmers of the stylistic traits of the North Shore of Lake Superior works, social commentary, and overall, his beautiful painterly hand. We can wonder about Harris at work sketching ~ were there no passersby that he chose to include in these scenes, no figures that he thought might be a part of the final work? Harris was, at the time this work was painted, a new member of the Theosophical Society of Canada’s Toronto Chapter. He was in earnest in his search for spiritual meaning, and his art, writings and poetry all indicate a desire to better himself and, more importantly, through this self~betterment, to improve the lives of those around him by example. He began to seek, in his art, subject matter that would be a metaphor for this quest. His Lake Superior trees, iconic triangular mountains, and serene, isolated icebergs are symbols of something greater than ourselves, something beyond us that we should try to understand. But the Toronto homes and buildings have an added impact. As silent witnesses to humankind’s successes and failures, they are man~made structures, and thus are poignant in a way that the landscapes simply cannot be. Not only are they witnesses to the efforts of the humanity around them, they are a silent part of it. They sit, some beautiful, some worn down, but always dignified, expressive of all that homes and buildings are: comfort, shelter, family, prosperity and hope. But the stillness of this scene, as with Harris’s utterly still landscapes, forces us to contemplate that there is more here than fence lines and porches. As an excerpt from his poem People Are All Right attests: Men run ’round Making little fears Making little havens, Making little hells, Making little heavens. A breath of wind And away these go. But men go on forever. Harris was never dogmatic in his work, never told us outright that we should, as he often did, spend some time in self~reflection, that we should look at our own lives and see what could be improved, where we should seek something better for our fellows and ourselves. He hoped instead that we would notice, through contemplating his work, what he was seeking, and likewise be compelled to seek something better for ourselves.

E STIMATE: $600,000 ~ 800,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

46

130

130 SIR FREDERICK GRANT BANTING 1891 ~ 1941

Village in Snow oil on board, on verso stamped with the estate stamp of the artist’s wife on October 3, 1979, circa 1930 10 1/2 x 14 in, 26.7 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Estate of Dr. Henrietta Banting By descent in the family Private Collection, Ontario Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 23, 2007, lot 75 Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country, The Autobiography of A.Y. Jackson, 1958, page 61 Sir Frederick Banting Archives, New Tecumseth Public Library, Sketches of Canada Notebook, pages 18 and 22, the graphite drawing

reproduced at http://calendar.county.simcoe.on.ca/partners/ New%20Tec%20Library/banting/database/000090q.html, accessed August 25, 2010 A brilliant medical researcher, famous as the co~discoverer of insulin, Frederick Banting was also a talented artist. Banting began painting while running his medical practice in London, Ontario. Mingling with the arts crowd at Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club, he met Group of Seven artist A.Y. Jackson. They became friends, and Banting joined him on sketching trips, three of them to Quebec ~ March of 1927 to Saint~Jean~Port~Jolie, 1930 to Saint~Fidèle and in 1937 to St~Tite~des~Caps. They worked in the open air, withstanding difficult winter conditions ~ when Banting’s hands were so cold he could hardly paint, he quipped to Jackson, “And I thought this was a sissy game.” On these painting trips, Banting ~ who felt trapped by his fame ~ felt free, and enjoyed the Quebec countryside and its people. This superb sketch captures the clear, brilliant light and colour of a sunlit winter’s day, with pastel pink and blue tints in the snow. In an interesting perspective, the buildings of the town rise to the crest of a hill, bringing the eye up into the dramatic sky. Due to Banting’s untimely death at age 49, works such as Village in Snow are rare treasures.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

47

131

131 SIR FREDERICK GRANT BANTING 1891 ~ 1941

Village in Winter oil on panel, signed 7 7/8 x 10 1/3 in, 20 x 26.2 cm P ROVENANCE : Given by Frederick Banting to Harold and Ruth Tovell (nee Massey), Toronto, circa late 1920s ~ early 1930s By descent to the present Private Collection, Colorado At the University of Toronto, Frederick Banting was a medical colleague of Dr. Harold M. Tovell, to whom he gave this work. Dr. Tovell married Ruth Massey of the Harris/Massey family, and Dentonia Farm, their large property in Toronto, became a centre of Canadian culture and art. The Tovells were patrons of the Group of Seven, and Arthur Lismer and A.Y. Jackson sketched at this farm on weekends, as did Banting. Village in Winter was displayed at Dentonia. In the evolution of renowned medical researcher Banting into a fine painter, his great friend, Group of Seven artist A.Y. Jackson, played a prominent role. They made many painting trips together to archetypal

Quebec towns such as the one portrayed in this richly atmospheric sketch. Jackson shared his knowledge gained through travels to Europe and his hearty enjoyment of these rural communities. Village in Winter captures the rustic charm of the simple, brightly painted houses with strong brush~strokes, boldly using the exposed wood panel to define form. Ultimately, Banting became an important participant in the fresh, direct approach to landscape painting led by the Group that changed Canadian art forever.

E STIMATE: $12,000 ~ 16,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

48

PROPERTY OF A CANADIAN PHILANTHROPIST

132


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

49

This double~sided watercolour reveals much about David Milne’s genius, most notably the rapidity of his aesthetic evolution when he was confronted with subjects with which he could fully engage. The earlier painting on verso, Slate Hill and Green Fields, dated May 10, 1916, is one of the first works that Milne executed in Boston Corners. Dissatisfied with his life in New York City, Milne had traveled to the area with his friend James Clarke to find a suitable rural setting which would provide good painting, yet be within easy reach of New York by railway. Boston Corners became the centre of Milne’s painting life immediately. Indeed, Milne was so eager to begin painting that he rented a house and moved in the same day, leaving it to his wife back in the city to gather their possessions for the move!

verso 132

132 DAVID BROWN MILNE CGP CSGA CSPWC 1882 ~ 1953

Reflections I, Boston Corners, NY / Slate Hill and Green Fields (verso) double~sided watercolour on paper, dated Sept. 26, 1916 / May 10, 1916 (verso) 15 3/8 x 19 1/2 in, 39 x 49.5 cm P ROVENANCE : Douglas Duncan Picture Loan Society, Toronto Morris Gallery, Toronto, 1972 Damkjar~Burton Gallery, Burlington, Ontario, 1972 R.M. MacKenzie, St. Catherines, Ontario, 1972 Marlborough~Godard, Toronto Acquired from the above by the present Private Collector, Toronto, 1976

L ITERATURE : Canadian Classics, Morris Gallery, 1972, reproduced, unpaginated London Collects 2, London Art Gallery, 1976 Heather Bruce, The David Milne Cameo Exhibition, London Regional Art Gallery, 1982 David P. Silcox, Painting Place: The Life and Work of David B. Milne, 1996, page 127 David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings Volume 1: 1882 ~ 1928, 1998, reproduced page 176, catalogue #107.62, Slate Hill and Green Fields reproduced page 160, catalogue #107.1

E XHIBITED : Morris Gallery, Toronto, Canadian Classics, October 21 ~ November 4, 1972 London Art Gallery, London Collects 2, September 4 ~ 26, 1976, titled as Reflection, catalogue #29 London Regional Art Gallery, The David Milne Cameo Exhibition, July 16 ~ September 12, 1982, titled as Band of Reflections

The bold use of colour and simple shapes, such as the contrasting tree silhouettes, continues the work that he had begun in New York, but the sheer visual punch of this early Boston Corners work suggests his exhilaration at his new subject matter. The subject is a pastoral one but the image scintillates visually. His skill at convincing us of the rightness of his vision is seen in the tree to the left, the branches of which change colour when they are seen against the open sky. Milne has used only four colours ~ grey, blue, green and black, together with the white of the paper ~ but the work is far from dull, being filled with a vital energy. As Milne began to explore the area which was to be his home for the next two years, his approach to the use of watercolour also changed. A number of early New York works, of which The Defiant Maple, 1909 ~ 1910, is the most well known, suggest that Milne had long been fascinated with the subject of reflections, and Boston Corners allowed him access to a number of ponds, which enabled further exploration of the subject. The still surface of the water often mirrored perfectly the forms of the shore landscape, yet there were differences in texture. Milne experimented with ways to record this textural difference and began to use washes ~ both clear and tinted ~ on top of the water areas of his images. As he later wrote, “The adventure in these pool pictures was one of texture, of contrast between the harsh, clear~cut colour and line of trees and contours, and the intimate combination of the two in the reflections.” As the catalogue raisonné has noted, Reflections I, Boston Corners, NY, painted on September 26, 1916, is the earliest dated Boston Corners image which “uses a tinted wash.” The effects of this “intimate combination” of forms are both subtle and poetic. Always ready to challenge our assumptions visually, Milne has made the greater part of the reflection give us a view of the tops of the trees which are cut off on the shore. This idea of textural shift, which Milne would continue to elaborate on, produced some of his most beautiful watercolours ~ for example, Bishop’s Pond, 1916, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. This double~sided painting encompasses, therefore, the beginnings of two vital aspects of Milne’s artistic career ~ the discovery of the landscape of the Boston Corners area as a new subject and the explorations of the pool pictures. It is a remarkable and important work for understanding Milne’s development as an artist. The consignor will donate the proceeds from the sale of this work to Canadian charities.

E STIMATE: $30,000 ~ 50,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

50

133


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

133 DAVID BROWN MILNE CGP CSGA CSPWC 1882 ~ 1953

Green Hillside, Boston Corners, NY oil on canvas, signed and dated May 9, 1920 and on verso titled on the Marlborough~Godard label 18 x 22 in, 45.7 x 55.9 cm P ROVENANCE : Marlborough~Godard, Toronto Acquired from the above by the present Private Collector, Toronto, 1976

L ITERATURE : David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings Volume 1: 1882 ~ 1928, 1998, reproduced page 280, catalogue #201.92 One of the most striking aspects of David Milne’s artistic career is the way that two radically different media can parallel, complement or transform each other as he worked concurrently. Between December of 1918 and August of 1919, Milne, working as an artist for the Canadian War Records program, produced a remarkable group of over 100 watercolours. Often working at great speed, Milne was forced to adapt his use of watercolour, and evolved an approach which used very little water. These dry~brush images transformed his work on paper. When Milne returned to North America and his home in Boston Corners, New York, he sought to bring this approach to painting watercolours into his work with oil paint. Not surprisingly, the earliest oils produced upon his return to Boston Corners are quite similar to the last works which he produced before his military service. Gradually, however, the spare quality of the line, which he developed during his time in Europe, began to inform his oil paintings. The brush was used as a drawing tool, and although colour and texture remained of great importance to Milne, he eschewed painterly flourishes such as heavy impasto. The landscape around Boston Corners continued to inspire him, as it had done before the war, but he now saw it more

51 analytically. This series of paintings are amongst Milne’s most intimate and evocative depictions of the landscape. Works such as Green Hillside, Boston Corners, NY might be said to have been more drawn than painted, but this is in no way a bad thing. Milne’s technique allowed him to use colour and line in subtle and delicate ways. While the subject, a house set in a wooded area at the foot of a rocky, sparsely wooded hillside with the sky above, is quite simple, the image Milne has produced is an immensely complex one. Never an artist to shy away from aesthetic adventure, Milne has presented himself with a remarkable series of challenges. Firstly, he used a very small palette of colours ~ blue, green, brown, grey and the white of the canvas primer ~ to depict everything ~ rock, foliage, branches, house and sky. Secondly, his application of the paint is remarkably consistent, despite the considerable variations of texture and form that these objects would have in the real world. In other words, he has employed great artifice to depict the natural world. Finally, he has chosen a subject which, when one describes it, seems to hold relatively little visual interest. It is a measure of his skill that, despite imposing dramatic restrictions on himself, he has produced a visually rich and vibrant depiction of the landscape which delights the eye. The image is busy, but never frantic, and quiet, but never still. The eye moves from one patch of colour and texture to another and gradually we see the topography of the hillside, the patterns of the trees and the shape of the compositional space emerge. It is a painting that arrests our attention quickly, but reveals richness and subtlety the longer we look. On the verso of this work is a graphite drawing of a Boston Corners landscape. The consignor will donate the proceeds from the sale of this work to Canadian charities.

E STIMATE: $70,000 ~ 90,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

52

134


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

53

134 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS

1885 ~ 1970

Algoma Landscape oil on canvas, signed, circa 1950 ~ 1951 37 1/4 x 42 in, 94.6 x 106.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Waddington Galleries, Toronto Acquired from the above by the present Private Collector, Toronto, 1978 The end of the First World War in 1918 was a pivotal time for Lawren Harris and his painter friends. In September of that year, Harris, J.E.H. MacDonald, Frank Johnston and their friend, physician Dr. James MacCallum, made the first of a series of boxcar sketching trips to the Algoma region of Ontario. The artists were so struck by the rich variety of subject matter that they returned the following year, this time with A.Y. Jackson, and a pattern of painting in the region was established. The sketches that Harris produced are characterized by a directness of observation and a keen appreciation for the colours of nature. These sketches became the sources for canvases which were produced later in his studio in Toronto. It is likely that it was in either 1918 or 1919 that Harris produced Algoma Sketch XLII (reproduced here). This sketch, a more realistic image than the large~scale decorative canvases he produced before the war (for example, Decorative Landscape, 1917, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada), shows us a screen of trees, some living and some dead, against a remarkably radiant sky. There is a careful balance between the strong verticals of the trees and the horizontal format of the panel, and the work is animated by flashes of brighter colour throughout the design. Not every sketch was turned into a canvas, and for whatever reason, Harris did not immediately work up this sketch into a larger composition. Although Harris is renowned as a landscape painter and was a pivotal figure in the formation of the Group of Seven, beginning in the mid~1930s he devoted most of the latter part of his career to abstraction. This move was driven by a desire to get away from anecdotal painting and to express more purely his spiritual beliefs. He did not, however, abandon the natural world, and continued to hike and sketch outdoors for much of his life. He also did not abandon landscape painting ~ many of the abstractions retain traces of the natural world and occasionally, such as in Algoma Landscape, he produced large~scale canvases later in his career. There are a number of paintings, of the Rockies and the Algoma region, where he used earlier sketches as the source for paintings produced years later. Two notable examples are a version of Isolation Peak sold at auction in 1990 and a canvas entitled Mountains, Moraine Lake, now in the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery. These later canvases have a number of characteristics that differentiate them from works of the 1920s. The support (whether board or, as in this case, canvas) is different;

Lawren S. Harris Algoma Sketch XLII oil on board, circa 1918 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in, 28.7 x 34.3 cm In a Private Collection; not for sale with this lot

the application of the paint is less reliant on impasto and more reliant on subtle shifts of colour, something that he developed in his abstractions. What remains constant, however, is a desire to refine and formalize the composition. The immediacy of the sketch has been transformed into a more cerebral and considered work of art. The changes that occur between the sketch and Algoma Landscape are subtle but striking. Reflecting his spiritual beliefs, the colours used have an evanescent quality, particularly in the sky, and there is a greater formality to the composition, which suggests that the scene is more imagined than observed. Harris retains that careful balance of horizontals and verticals found in the sketch, but there is a greater distance between the viewer and the subject ~ one that comes from years of reflection and careful thought. Harris has returned to an earlier subject, but as with other instances when this occurs, he does not try to repeat himself, but rather to produce a more contemporary variation which reflects his achievements as an artist in the intervening years. Algoma Landscape is a work which is deeply informed by both his early explorations of the Canadian landscape and his almost two decades as one of Canada’s most important abstractionists. The consignor will donate the proceeds from the sale of this work to Canadian charities.

E STIMATE: $250,000 ~ 350,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

54

135

135 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS

1885 ~ 1970

Cottage, Metis Beach, Que., Houses Group XXIX oil on panel, signed and on verso signed twice on the board and on the artist’s label, titled twice on the board and on the artist’s label, inscribed property Bess Harris 1943 BHC~115 / keep and with the artist’s symbol and numbered variously 26 / 7 / 60, circa 1916 10 5/8 x 14 in, 27 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Bess Harris Collection, Vancouver Marlborough~Godard, Toronto Acquired from the above by the present Private Collector, Toronto, 1979 This beautiful painting of a cottage, inscribed by Lawren Harris’s wife Bess as one to “keep”, is a fine example of his explorations of Canadian

architecture as a subject. Harris treated the homes and buildings that he painted as an artist treats a subject sitting for a portrait ~ indeed, his houses can be considered portraits of what they represent: the people who inhabit them, the activities that are conducted in them, in whatever state they may be in. He delved more deeply into the structure than the surface and shape ~ he wished to get to the essential character of his homes and buildings. In this depiction of a pleasant Quebec cottage, Harris portrayed a well~kept home, with a porch and gabled roof in contrasting red and white. Framed by blossoming green trees, the scene is absolutely still, and the closed door, shuttered windows and sharply angled shadows emphasize this stillness. Harris’s buildings are filled with socially conscious messages; he was keenly aware of the difference between classes, and thus his architectural works can be seen as allegories of Canadian society. The consignor will donate the proceeds from the sale of this work to Canadian charities.

E STIMATE: $90,000 ~ 120,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

55

136

136 DAVID BROWN MILNE CGP CSGA CSPWC 1882 ~ 1953

Ossington Street watercolour on paper, signed and dated 1939 and on verso inscribed by Douglas Duncan W ~ 129 131 / 108 138 / 139 / 141 / Ossington St. / Summer 1939 and inscribed by the Duncan estate 1267 10 x 14 in, 25.4 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Marlborough~Godard, Toronto Acquired from the above by the present Private Collector, Toronto, 1976

L ITERATURE : David Milne Jr., David Milne, The Toronto Year, 1939 ~ 1940, Marlborough~Godard, 1976, reproduced front cover, listed page 11 David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings Volume 2: 1929 ~ 1953, 1998, reproduced page 698, catalogue #401.7

E XHIBITED : Marlborough~Godard, Toronto, David Milne, The Toronto Year, 1939 ~ 1940, January 1976, reproduced front cover, catalogue #5 After six years in a small cabin on Six Mile Lake in the Ontario wilderness, David Milne was feeling his isolation, and in July 1939 moved to Toronto, remaining there until August of 1940. During this year, he painted from pencil sketches drawn on walks in the city, recording urban scenes ranging from cathedrals to rowhouses on Ossington Street, as well as his apartment interior. After a hiatus of 12 years from watercolour painting, Milne resumed using this medium in 1937, and it was his focus in Toronto. A subtle shift took place in his work ~ the watercolours had a new softness and freedom. Contributing to this was a joyous change in Milne’s personal life that came with his new relationship with Kathleen Pavey. Ossington Street is a fine Toronto scene, highlighted by warm colours and lively conversation, and was featured on the cover of Marlborough~Godard’s exhibition catalogue for David Milne, The Toronto Year, 1939 ~ 1940. The consignor will donate the proceeds from the sale of this work to Canadian charities.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

56

PROPERTY OF VARIOUS COLLECTORS

137


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

137 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

North Shore, Quebec oil on canvas, signed and on verso inscribed Dr. Stanley Campbell on the stretcher, circa 1939 22 1/4 x 26 1/4 in, 56.5 x 66.7 cm P ROVENANCE : A gift from the Artist to Dr. Stanley Minto Campbell, Toronto By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario

L ITERATURE : A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country: The Autobiography of A.Y. Jackson, 1958, page 132 It was a fateful moment for A.Y. Jackson on a late September day in 1913, when Dr. James MacCallum docked his motorboat on the shore near the cabin Jackson frequented in Georgian Bay. Dr. MacCallum asked what his plans were for the impending winter, and quickly offered him a year’s expenses and a free studio in the artist’s space he was building with Lawren Harris in Toronto. This turn of events led Jackson on a path very few Canadian painters would have the privilege of experiencing. From coast to coast, Jackson painted with vigour and sentiment the very heart of our Canadian landscape. He journeyed from the Arctic passageways to the shores of Lake Superior, Algoma, Georgian Bay and throughout Quebec. There was a vast amount of territory to depict, and he captured its grandness, beauty and scale in both his panels and oil canvases. What Dr. MacCallum did for Jackson and the Group of Seven was extremely important. Not only did he financially support these artists, he also sought to help these talented men establish a base of collectors

57

who would support them well into their careers. One such gentleman and colleague was Dr. Stanley Campbell, the first head of Anesthesia at the Toronto General Hospital and a graduating classmate of Dr. Frederick Banting at the University of Toronto. Dr. Campbell’s interest in art was sparked by patrons of the Group of Seven and also by Jackson directly. The artist was a patient at Dr. Campbell’s general practice in North Toronto. Jackson gave two small oil panels to his doctor for medical services rendered in the early 1930s. Dr. Campbell and his wife Jean were so taken with these charming works that they collected numerous canvases throughout the next decade. North Shore, Quebec was the first of these subsequent acquisitions and was a favourite of Dr. Campbell’s wife. In this classic Jackson Quebec winter scene, the turquoise blue and white snow tinged with ribbons of pink and the pool of melted water point to an early day in March, when a first thaw hints of spring’s renewal. A family member recalls Jean Campbell entering Jackson’s studio and gravitating to this canvas on the wall. One can imagine such a scene in Jackson’s studio, where, as Jackson describes, there was “a big easel which was supposed to have belonged to Tom Thomson. A pair of West Coast snowshoes, an Indian mask and prints of paintings by Paul Cézanne and Vincent Van Gogh served as decorations.” It was a small network of doctors who would become some of the first mainstream collectors of the Group of Seven. They supported the artists and fostered the idea of national identity and the distinctiveness of Canadian landscape through their collecting. Dr. Campbell acquired this work directly from the artist, after which it passed by descent through the family ~ thus it is the first time it has been offered for sale since it left the artist’s studio.

E STIMATE: $100,000 ~ 150,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

58

138

138 CORNELIUS DAVID KRIEGHOFF 1815 ~ 1872

The Artist and His Friends oil on canvas, signed and dated indistinctly 1849 12 x 14 in, 30.5 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal Private Collection, Montreal Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : J. Russell Harper, Krieghoff, 1979, similar oil on canvas entitled The Game of Cards reproduced page 33 When Cornelius Krieghoff painted this charming scene in 1849, he had firmly established himself in Montreal. At this stage in his career he was producing interior scenes of remarkable charm and character. He had mastered the play of light in a darkened room and was able to concentrate

on the humorous interplay between characters. A similar work from 1848, A Game of Cards, is in the collection of the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa. The reason for the popularity of these paintings both at the time and today can be explained by the deft touch with which Krieghoff was able to add authentic details in the clothing, furnishings and accoutrements which are portrayed. Krieghoff was creating a fascinating record of life in French Canada. However, this rare painting is not just a record of any group of habitants. By using his friends as subjects and adding himself into the scene, Krieghoff has made a truly historic painting. In studying this work it is worthwhile to view a near~contemporary photograph, C. Krieghoff & Friends, 1856, in the Notman Photographic Archives at the McCord Museum of Canadian History in Montreal. It shows how, despite the appearance of caricature, Krieghoff has actually captured remarkable likenesses.

E STIMATE: $60,000 ~ 80,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

59 The Jealous Husband depicts a classic Quebec habitant scene containing satirical undertones. Cornelius Krieghoff’s wife was a habitant, and as he lived among them and observed them, he developed a great affection for and understanding of their customs and everyday life. In this lively painting, the object of a Scottish officer’s affections is a young woman, who could be either the daughter or wife of the older habitant figure discovering their encounter. A Scottish regiment of the British army, the 71st Highlanders, was stationed in Fort Chambly near Montreal, and youths from the lower ranks found sport in chasing after the local young ladies, much to the dismay of their families. As Russell Harper notes, “It was a situation with considerable humorous potential and Krieghoff took full advantage of it.” Krieghoff’s incorporation of humour into his work greatly appealed to his collectors, who included army officers. Interior scenes were an important theme for Krieghoff around the late 1840s, and he painted various versions of this flirtatious scene, with finely rendered facial features and costumes, the colourful characters set as if on a stage.

E STIMATE: $30,000 ~ 40,000

139

139 CORNELIUS DAVID KRIEGHOFF 1815 ~ 1872

The Jealous Husband oil on board, signed, circa 1846 ~ 1848 10 x 8 3/8 in, 25.4 x 21.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Ottawa

L ITERATURE : J. Russell Harper, Krieghoff, 1979, page 32, a similar oil entitled The Jealous Husband, circa 1846 ~ 1848, reproduced page 32 Dennis Reid et al, Krieghoff / Images of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1999, a similar oil entitled The Jealous Husband, circa 1847, reproduced page 55


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

60

140

140 ALBERT HENRY ROBINSON CGP RCA 1881 ~ 1956

Ice on the St. Lawrence oil on panel, signed 8 1/2 x 10 3/4 in, 21.6 x 27.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Ontario Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 2, 2002, lot 23 Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Jennifer Watson, Albert H. Robinson, The Mature Years, Kitchener~Waterloo Art Gallery, 1982, the similar 1923 oil sketch entitled The Open Stream, in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, and the 1924 canvas The Open Stream, in the collection of the Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, reproduced page 40

Quebec in winter was an important theme for Albert Robinson, and his life in the 1920s was full of sketching trips along the St. Lawrence River and the “artist trails” leading up the North and South Shores to the small villages. Group of Seven artist A.Y. Jackson was his most frequent companion, in 1921 to Cacouna, in 1923 to Baie~Saint~Paul and St~Tite~des~Caps, in 1924 to Baie~Saint~Paul again and in 1926 to La Malbaie and Saint~Fidèle. Robinson was influenced by the Impressionists, clearly demonstrated in this exquisite sketch by his sensitivity to light effects and use of delicate pastel tints of pink, mauve and pale green in the snow and ice. A master colourist, his frequent use of white in his pigments added much to these effects. Robinson painted the subject of ice mingled with open water in a similar 1923 oil sketch in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, from which he produced the canvas The Open Stream, in the collection of the Musée national d’art moderne in Paris. Robinson’s artistic output was cut short by illness, thus exquisite sketches such as this are rare.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

61

143

141

141 ALBERT HENRY ROBINSON CGP RCA

1881 ~ 1956

Leaving Port, Moonlight, Saint~Malo, France

143 ALBERT HENRY ROBINSON CGP RCA 1881 ~ 1956

France, Saint~Malo, Fishing Boats at Anchor

P ROVENANCE :

oil on panel, signed and dated 1911 and on verso initialed, titled France, St~Malo, Fishing Boats at Anchor and inscribed 30.00$ 8 3/8 x 10 1/2 in, 21.3 x 26.7 cm

Private Collection, Montreal

P ROVENANCE :

E STIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,000

Private Collection, Montreal

oil on board, signed and dated 1911 and on verso titled 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, 21.6 x 26.7 cm

E XHIBITED :

142 WALTER WILLIAM MAY RCA

1831 ~ 1936

Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal, Hommage Ă Albert H. Robinson, September 1994, catalogue #17

E STIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,000

Tall Ship Foundering in Arctic Waters, Franklin Expedition watercolour on paper on board, signed and dated 1866 14 5/8 x 25 5/8 in, 37.1 x 65.1 cm P ROVENANCE : By descent to a Private Collection, British Columbia Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, November 24, 2006, lot 73 Private Collection, Vancouver Walter May was a British topographical artist, but was also a member of the RCA, thus the inclusion of this fine work in the sale. While in the service of the Royal Navy, he served on two Arctic voyages, both in search of Sir John Franklin who had disappeared while on an expedition searching for the Northwest Passage.

E STIMATE: $6,000 ~ 8,000

142


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

62

144

144 ALBERT HENRY ROBINSON CGP RCA

1881 ~ 1956

Schooner in the Harbour oil on panel, signed and on verso titled on the Watson Art Galleries label 8 3/8 x 10 3/8 in, 21.3 x 26.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Watson Art Galleries, Montreal Private Collection, Victoria

L ITERATURE : Jennifer Watson, Albert H. Robinson, The Mature Years, Kitchener~Waterloo Art Gallery, 1982, page 18 Albert Robinson loved boats and the water, and began painting harbours with boats while traveling in England, France and Italy. While in Europe,

the influence of Impressionism had an unmistakable effect on his work. He came back to Montreal in 1912, where he often painted its harbour in the summers ~ his cousin was the harbour paymaster, so he had free access to the area ~ and spent much time painting scenes of docks and boats en plein air. An Impressionist approach to light and colour can clearly be seen in this delightful and atmospheric oil sketch, in which broken dabs of pigment create the illusion of light dancing on water. Robinson painted with a light~filled palette, and creamy pastels dominate this tranquil image. Associated with the Group of Seven and part of the vanguard of artists that would change the way we see the landscape, Robinson was one of the few artists invited to the first Group exhibition, and accompanied A.Y. Jackson on sketching trips in the Quebec countryside. Robinson’s passion for his work is revealed in his statement, “To paint well, you must be all fired up ~ you must be hungry.”

E STIMATE: $9,000 ~ 12,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

63

145

145 RITA MOUNT ARCA 1888 ~ 1967

Fleeting Clouds, Port Daniel oil on canvas, signed and on verso titled on the artist’s label and titled Fleeting Clouds on the Dominion Gallery label 30 1/4 x 34 1/4 in, 76.8 x 87 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal Sold sale of Canadian Art, Joyner Fine Art, December 4, 2001, lot 93 Private Collection, Toronto Rita Mount was an anglophone Montreal artist known for her Quebec landscape painting, particularly seascapes. Mount’s art education included studies in Paris at the Cercle international des beaux~arts and Atelier Delécluze, and at the Art Association of Montreal with William

Brymner, as well as at the Art Students League in New York with Frank Vincent Dumond. Following this, she returned to Montreal, establishing a studio there. She was attracted to the ambiance of Quebec’s Gaspé coast and painted fine seascapes there, such as Fleeting Clouds, Port Daniel; the port is located on the Gaspé’s south shore. This evocative work with its soft, pastel treatment of sky and water is reminiscent of French Impressionist handling of subjects such as Brittany, but is painted with a bright, light~filled palette that reflects the uniqueness of the Canadian atmosphere. Mount’s work was carried by important early dealers including Watson Art Galleries in Montreal. She exhibited in Canada as well as internationally, in shows such as the British Empire Overseas Exhibition and the New York World’s Fair in 1939.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 18,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

64

146

146 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

Farm Road, Combermere, Ontario / Farm Building (verso) double~sided oil on panel, signed and on verso titled on the Dominion Gallery label 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in, 26.7 x 34.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Ontario By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver A.Y. Jackson’s great love of rural farmland began in the Quebec countryside, and his iconic images of this subject established his special identity within the Group of Seven and Canada’s art history. However,

other rural landscapes beckoned in Jackson’s travels, such as the Ontario countryside. Jackson made regular trips to Georgian Bay, the La Cloche hills area and the east shore of Lake Superior, and, beginning in 1946, explorations to eastern Ontario through regular trips to the Ottawa area. After Lawren Harris sold the Studio Building in Toronto in 1948, his base for many years, Jackson grew restless. In 1954, he purchased land at Manotick, near Ottawa, where he built a studio. Living there brought his attention to the surrounding countryside, and he made numerous visits to Combermere. Both images on this evocative double~sided painting include one of Jackson’s favoured motifs, a meandering road pulling the viewer into the mid~ground, to focal points such as the fence and the building. The hillsides glow with warm autumn hues, and the scenes are animated with Jackson’s characteristic expressive brush~stroke and sense of rhythm in the land.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

65

verso 146

147 JOSEPH ARCHIBALD BROWNE OSA RCA 1862 ~ 1948

GaspÊ Landscape oil on canvas, signed and dated 1915 61 x 42 in, 154.9 x 106.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Collection of Lady Flora Eaton, King, Ontario Acquired at the sale of the Lady Eaton Estate, Ward~Price Auctions, Toronto, November 17, 1971 by the present Private Collection, Toronto Born in England, Joseph Archibald Browne studied at the Glasgow School of Art and in Paris. He emigrated to Canada in 1888, taking classes with William Cruikshank in Toronto. Browne was a founding member of the Canadian Art Club in 1907, along with his contemporaries James Wilson Morrice, Horatio Walker, Homer Watson, William Brymner and others. The mandate of the group was to hold exhibitions and promote the cause of Canadian art. He was also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy and the Pen and Pencil Club of Montreal. From 1923 to 1927 Browne lived in Montreal, and from 1927 to 1948 in Lancaster, Ontario. He made sketching trips to the Laurentians, and is best known for his romantic landscapes, such as this ethereal painting with its striking cloud formations and soft, glowing colour. Browne’s work is represented in the collections of both the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada.

E STIMATE: $14,000 ~ 18,000

147


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

66

L ITERATURE : Lora S. Urbanelli, The Grosvenor School, British Linocuts Between the Wars, Rhode Island School of Design, 1988, reproduced page 23 Stephen Coppel, Linocuts of the Machine Age, 1995, reproduced page 113 and full page colour plate 16, catalogue #SA 27 Clifford S. Ackley, Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints 1914 ~ 1939, Museum of Fine Arts, 2008, reproduced page 171

E XHIBITED : Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Sybil Andrews, 1982, same image, catalogue #27 Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, The Grosvenor School, British Linocuts Between the Wars, 1988, same image, catalogue #12 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints 1914 ~ 1939, 2008, same image, catalogue #99

148

148 SYBIL ANDREWS CPE

1898 ~ 1992

Windmill colour linocut, signed, titled and editioned 43/60, 1933 12 1/2 x 8 3/4 in, 31.7 x 22.2 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Winnipeg

Born in Bury St. Edmunds in England, Sybil Andrews moved to Canada in 1947, settling in Campbell River on Vancouver Island. In England, Andrews was part of the Grosvenor School, a group of artists influenced by futurism, which celebrated the dynamism and movement of the machine age. Windmill was produced when Andrews shared a studio with Cyril Power in Hammersmith, a time in which Andrews produced an extraordinary body of work. In Windmill, she expresses the rhythms of nature through the wind, harnessed by this man~made machine. The model for this linocut was Elmers Mill, an old Suffolk post windmill near Bury St. Edmunds. Andrews sets the viewpoint from below, emphasizing the rotating blades that dominate the sky. Form is streamlined and stylized, curving and pointed, increasing the sense of dynamic movement. Bold, simple planes of colour and emphatic outlines of black add to the linocut’s visual punch. Andrews has achieved international acclaim for her linocuts. Windmill was exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibition Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints 1914 ~ 1939 that toured to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2008. This is an excellent impression on oriental laid paper.

E STIMATE : $20,000 ~ 30,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

67

149

149 SYBIL ANDREWS CPE 1898 ~ 1992

Flower Girls linocut in 4 colours, signed, titled and editioned 40/60, 1934 8 1/2 x 9 3/4 in, 21.6 x 24.8 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, New York

L ITERATURE : Peter White, Sybil Andrews, Glenbow Museum, 1982, reproduced page 40 and page 56 full page colour Stephen Coppel, Linocuts of the Machine Age, 1995, reproduced page 114, catalogue #SA 28

E XHIBITED : Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Sybil Andrews, 1982, same image, catalogue #28

In Flower Girls, Sybil Andrews creates a sense of dynamic movement through the repeated angular shapes of the women ascending the steps. The figures have great vitality, and their rich colouration against the background adds to this impression. Andrews’s bold colour palette was directly influenced by the strong colours in Russian icons that she saw in an exhibition in 1929 at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In Flower Girls, Andrews contrasts strong yellow and red tones in the lush bunches of flowers and baskets against the dark~toned, powerful figures. Economic conditions in the 1930s and the resulting social changes brought an acute awareness of the realities of the working class, which became a subject for art, with their energy and productiveness portrayed in an idealized manner. Andrews often depicted working people in her linocuts, and in this superb print, she imbues the flower sellers with strength, dignity and a sense of determination as they go about their daily activities. This is an excellent impression on oriental laid paper.

E STIMATE: $18,000 ~ 22,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

68

150 MARC~AURÈLE DE FOY SUZOR~COTÉ

Marc~Aurèle de Foy Suzor~Coté mastered the medium of pastel during his studies in Paris. His paintings often began as pastels to study colour values, and were finished works in themselves. This superb pastel is a preliminary work for Suzor~Coté’s 1924 masterpiece canvas entitled Hauling Logs, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. In the canvas is the same habitant figure with his sledge laden with logs in an expansive view of the horse~drawn sledge emerging from the forest into a clearing on a sunny winter day. In the pastel, a close~up of figure and sledge with the forest as backdrop, the habitant has the same posture and clothing as in the painting, and the sledge possesses the same details, such as the ax and forked log. This image was an important one to Suzor~Coté ~ he was born in Arthabaska and kept his studio there, and his images of the habitants of the area are embued with empathy and reverence. The same figure and log~laden sledge is also seen in two sculptures from 1910 and 1924. In works such as this, Suzor~Cote captured the soul of these rural Quebec people, establishing the habitants of Arthabaska as Canadian icons.

150

CAC RCA 1869 ~ 1937

Hauling Logs pastel on paper laid down on cardstock, signed, circa 1923 ~ 1924 10 5/8 x 15 in, 27 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Ottawa

L ITERATURE : Pierre L’Allier, Suzor~Coté, l’oeuvre sculpté, Musée du Québec, 1991, the related 1924 bronze sculpture, in the collection of the Musée du Québec, reproduced page 78 and the related 1924 canvas entitled Hauling Logs, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, reproduced page 79 Laurier Lacroix, Suzor~Coté, Light and Matter, National Gallery of Canada, 2002, a related 1910 plaster and wood sculpture entitled Hauling Wood reproduced pages 223 and 266

E STIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

69

Marc~Aurèle de Foy Suzor~Coté Hauling Logs , 1924 oil on canvas, 31 5/8 x 51 3/8 in, 80.5 x 130.3 cm Purchased 1956, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Photograph © National Gallery of Canada

151 MARC~AURÈLE DE FOY SUZOR~COTÉ CAC RCA 1869 ~ 1937

Crépuscule d’été oil on canvas, signed and dated 1906 24 x 15 1/2 in, 61 x 39.4 cm P ROVENANCE : Galerie Bernard Desroches, Montreal Private Collection, Ontario Private Collection, Toronto Marc~Aurèle de Foy Suzor~Coté trained in Paris at the École des beaux~arts and both the Julian and Colarossi Academies, and absorbed the innovations of the Impressionists. From late 1897 to mid~July of 1907, Suzor~Coté lived in France almost continuously, exhibiting regularly at the Paris Salons. While there, he spent considerable time sketching in the surrounding countryside, and spent the summer of 1906 painting in Port~Blanc on the north coast of Brittany, as well as in the region of Cernay ~ locations such as these were a magnet for painters. This sensitive observation of the countryside at dusk lit by a rising moon displays Suzor~Coté’s great technical virtuosity. Both the Barbizon School and Impressionist painters were greatly interested in atmospheric effects of all kinds, and the poetic ambiance of the moon was considered particularly beguiling. Crépuscule d’été, with its luminous sky and dusk~shrouded trees, is an outstanding example of this subject. On his return to Canada, Suzor~Coté brought with him fresh approaches to painting and, along with Maurice Cullen, he is considered to have introduced Impressionism to Canada.

E STIMATE: $45,000 ~ 55,000

151


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

70

152


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

152 ARTHUR LISMER AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA 1885 ~ 1969

Dark Pool, Canadian Jungle, Georgian Bay oil on canvas, signed and dated 1938 and on verso titled on the gallery label 20 x 24 in, 50.8 x 61 cm P ROVENANCE : Galerie Bernard Desroches, Montreal Collection of Imperial Oil Limited, Calgary

L ITERATURE : Marjorie Lismer Bridges, A Border of Beauty, 1977, page 28 Lois Darroch, Bright Land: A Warm Look at Arthur Lismer, 1981, page 102 Georgian Bay! Thousands of islands, little and big, some of them mere rocks just breaking the surface of the waters of the Bay ~ others with great, high rocks tumbled in confused masses and crowned with leaning pines, turned away in ragged disarray from the west wind, presenting a strange pattern against the sky and water‌Georgian Bay ~ the happy isles, all different, but bound together in a common unity of form, colour and design. It is a paradise for painters. ~ Arthur Lismer When Lismer visited Georgian Bay for the first time in September of 1913, he was dumbstruck by the impact of the landscape. His poetic description of it reveals his artist’s eye, his unique way of seeing the pools, rocks, crags and trees that make his work so distinct. While a guest of Dr. James MacCallum at his Georgian Bay cottage called Westwind, Lismer began a life~long love affair with Georgian Bay, and would return there to work throughout his life. In the 1920s and early 1930s, Lismer would paint at Rock~Lee Island, La Cloche, Baie Fin and McGregor Bay, taking his family with him whenever possible. It was at McGregor Bay, Lismer is once quoted to have said, that he found himself as a painter. By 1938, the year Dark Pool, Canadian Jungle, Georgian Bay was painted, Lismer had developed his fully mature style. He would use heavily

71 built~up layers of paint in some areas, and contrast these with paint scrubbed on thinly in others. Lismer was a skilled colourist; as an educator he fully understood the effects of colour, and could play one against another with a certain result. He could set mood, define weather, convey temperature and season with carefully chosen hues. He was also a keen experimenter, and his palette is vivid in works from the 1930s. In this work, the deep blue of the water as it changes in shade from the front of the pool near us to the back edge of the pool on the far shore, where it becomes black and brown, is superbly handled. Dark Pool, Canadian Jungle, Georgian Bay is packed full with pines and rocks, branches and leaves, lilies and grasses. Lismer loved the dense, unkempt wildness of nature, the tangles of bracken and forest floors strewn with leaf litter. In these mature works he would often detail each of these different elements and bring them all together by using the end of his brush or a small stick to draw back into the still wet paint. These calligraphic, tactile marks further define details such as the particular shape of leaves on the trees and shrubs, the swirled reflections in the water, or the outlined edges of branches and driftwood. This technique is a beautiful characteristic of his later works, a decorative touch that really makes the works sing. He was a skilled draughtsman, and these marks remind us of that. Lismer was also interested in the rich details of his subjects. Rocks are multi~hued, leaves are differently shaped. There is an earthy lushness to his works, a great feeling of awareness for things that are alive. His water dances as if touched by bugs, his pools hint at the frogs and fish that lurk out of sight, his grasses are marked by the animals that have trampled them. It is a landscape both alive and lived in. Lismer used the word jungle to describe his painted forests ~ it is a very apt word, especially here. Dark Pool, Canadian Jungle, Georgian Bay is so rich with life and pattern that it seems almost tropical. Imperial Oil Limited will donate the proceeds from the sale of this work to the United Way of Calgary and Area.

E STIMATE: $60,000 ~ 80,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

72

153


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

153 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS

1885 ~ 1970

Above Little Falls, Algoma oil on board, signed and on verso signed three times and titled on the artist’s label Canyon Algoma IV, Algoma Sketches XXX and on the board Above Little Falls, Algoma, inscribed on verso Bess Harris Collection / keep and in graphite with the Doris Mills Inventory #2/25 and in red 65 and in black 69~17 10 3/4 x 12 3/4 in, 27.3 x 32.4 cm P ROVENANCE : Roberts Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Ontario

L ITERATURE : Doris Mills, L.S. Harris Inventory, 1936, listed, titled as Canyon IV A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country, The Autobiography of A.Y. Jackson, 1958, page 45 Lawren Harris, The Story of the Group of Seven, 1964, pages 19 and 20 The northern region of Algoma, Ontario figures predominantly in the early days of the Group of Seven. It was there that J.E.H. MacDonald painted some of his most iconic works, there that A.Y. Jackson painted First Snow, Algoma, in the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, and there that Lawren Harris began his topographical and spiritual journey from Canada’s eastern lake country up to the North Shore of Lake Superior, west to the Rockies, north to the Arctic, and further on into abstraction. Harris visited the Algoma region for the first time in the spring of 1918 with Group of Seven patron Dr. James MacCallum. Harris had just been discharged from army service in the First World War, and his brother and only sibling, Howard, had been killed in action in France. Tom Thomson had died tragically, and all of this had taken a steep toll on Harris. MacCallum, sensitive to his friend’s troubles, took him into nature to heal. Algoma’s beauty was the perfect medicine for Harris. Enthusiastic and eager to see more of this country, he returned that fall on the first of the famous boxcar trips that he organized with the Algoma Central Railway, again with MacCallum, and this time joined by J.E.H. MacDonald and Frank Johnston. Algoma was a remote and challenging destination, reachable only by train, which , as A.Y. Jackson described, “passes

73 through country heavily wooded with birch and maple, poplar, spruce and white pine, a country of big hills that drop down steeply to Lake Superior. The rivers cut through the hills and fall down in a series of rapids and waterfalls to the lake. In October it is a blaze of colour.” The varied landscape appealed to each painter in his own particular way, and the very boldness of the land, the rough and rugged rise and fall of the hills, the cuts made by water over eons, attracted Harris. Above Little Falls, Algoma is a sunlit dance of colour and light. Most interesting in the work is the play of light and shadow ~ brilliant sunlight hits the rocks in the stream, highlighting them in pink, yellow and white against the sky~blue water that cascades between the boulders. Immediately behind, a lush hill rolls from sunlight into shadow and then into half~shadow. The forest covering this hill changes completely in character as sunlight turns bright mossy greens into inky blue~greens and then into half tones of each of these colours as it moves up the hill. The delicate tracery of needleless pine boughs on the left edge of the work recalls earlier works by Harris ~ Toronto’s snow~laden street scenes, with their lacy tree boughs and fine handling ~ while the stark outlining of rocks and water look forward to the clean lines of the Rockies and Arctic works that are yet to come. Algoma was a happy time in Harris’s life. Self reliant, with the boxcar comfortably outfitted with bunk beds and a small kitchen, and a handcar and a canoe for more far~reaching explorations, he and the other painters were productive and enthusiastic. The adventure eased the trauma of Harris’s war experiences and renewed his love of the Canadian landscape. He considered Algoma’s scenery “a veritable paradise for the creative adventurer in paint in the Canadian North.” He related that together they worked “from early morning until dark, in sun, grey weather, or rain. In the evening by lamp or candlelight each showed the others his day’s work. This was a time for criticism, encouragement, and discussion, for accounts of our discoveries about painting, for our thoughts on the character of the country, and our descriptions of effects in nature which differed in each section of the country.” These were the formative days of the Group of Seven, and it was in the fertile landscape of Algoma that the seeds of camaraderie, friendly critique, shared enthusiasm for the Canadian land and like~mindedness for the pursuit and establishment of a truly Canadian school of painting were sown.

E STIMATE: $200,000 ~ 250,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

74

154


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

154 FREDERICK HORSMAN VARLEY ARCA G7 OSA 1881 ~ 1969

Arctic Night oil on board, signed and on verso titled on the board and titled The Iceberg on the Watson Galleries label, inscribed Nascopie Trip and dated 1938 by Peter Varley and stamped with the Varley Inventory #723 11 3/4 x 15 in, 29.8 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Watson Art Galleries, Montreal, inventory #13620 Given by Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence T. Porter, Montreal, as a wedding gift, September 24, 1961 By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario

L ITERATURE : Christopher Varley, F.H. Varley, A Centennial Exhibition, The Edmonton Art Gallery, 1981, pages 138 and 140 Peter Varley, Frederick H. Varley, 1983, page 148 On July 9, 1938 Frederick Varley left Montreal to join the government supply ship Nascopie on its annual patrol trip through the Arctic, traveling as far north as Thule, Greenland. His cabin mate on this journey was the Royal Ontario Museum’s ornithologist Terry M. Shortt. In these cramped quarters, Shortt dissected birds for his research, while Varley sketched, in a creative jumble of biology and art. In spite of all of this, Varley reported that they “got on excellently.” This trip was fortuitous ~ Varley was entranced with the Arctic, and in late August he wrote, “I’m more drunk than ever in my life ~ drunk with the seemingly impossible ~ the glaciers up the Greenland coast & the weather rounded mountains ~ the icebergs ~ literally hundreds of them, floating sphinxes ~ pyramids ~ mountain peaks with castles on them ~ draw~bridges & crevasses, huge cathedrals ~ coral forms magnified a thousand fold ~ fangs of teeth hundreds of feet high ~ strange caves giving out in front of them the intense singing violet of space until the cave is as unreal as a dream.” Varley worked feverishly, bringing back a wealth of work, but mostly in watercolour, pencil or crayon. As the Nascopie traveled further north, he had trouble with the plasticity of his oils due

75 to cold, and Shortt generously gave Varley about 200 sheets of his own paper, as well as brushes and watercolours. Varley did produce some rare and exquisite paintings done on the spot, such as this superb work. His subjects were most often Eskimo people in the landscape or in their settlements and views across the ocean to mountainous shores, making this iceberg subject rare as well. Further, he was only known to have painted about three studio works from his Arctic material, of which the National Gallery of Canada has one in their collection ~ the canvas Arctic Landscape. The experience of the long days of Arctic summer, with their prolonged sunset and sunrise light effects, was magical for Varley. He dwelt upon the extraordinary colours staining the sky and water, such as the hues of orange and golden yellow at the horizon here, stating that “under such conditions one lives in prismatic colours.” Varley’s visionary state of mind is manifested in this image. He mentioned the sphinx in his description of the various forms that he saw in the icebergs, and this one resembles an eroded sphinx, like a spectre of a great monument from a civilization long gone ~ the towering form pulling from Varley’s unconscious the suggestion of an icon of human history. Comparison can be made to the extraordinary Arctic iceberg paintings of fellow Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris, with their clear and transcendent light and highlighting of the sculptural qualities of the ice forms. However, Varley differs from Harris’s cool, spiritually resonant images in his romantic response to the beauty of the long sunsets and sunrises, extraordinarily varied use of colour, and his textural, sensuous brush~strokes. Arctic Night is a rare and beautiful masterwork, an iconic image of one of the most extraordinary Canadian landscapes. It is a feast of colour, and contains the hues of blue, green and purple so particular to Varley’s unique palette, perfected while living in Vancouver. His visceral approach to mass brings solidity to cloud, iceberg and even ocean, contrasted to the ethereal glow in the sky, made more pronounced by the contrast between the orange and yellow at the horizon and the eerie glow of yellowish green above it. Varley returned to Halifax on September 30 ~ this would be his only trip to the Arctic, one of the great experiences of his life, and this work, a treasure remaining from it.

E STIMATE: $125,000 ~ 175,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

76

PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF THEODOSIA DAWES BOND THORNTON (1915 ~ 2009) Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton was born in 1915 in Montreal to Rachel Mary Dawes and Frank Lorn Campbell Bond. She was their only child, and grew up in an environment of sensitive and intelligent ambition, exposed to fine art and high cultural aspirations. Her family tree is quite remarkable and includes James Pawley Dawes, founder of the Dawes brewery in Lachine, Quebec; the famous fur trader and explorer Peter Skene Ogden, after whom Ogden, Utah was named and the author of The Snake River Journals; and Dana Wilgress, Canada’s first ambassador to the United Nations. Her great~grandfather was Bishop Bond, the primate, or highest ranking bishop of all Canada for the Anglican Church. Theodosia’s mother Rachel was an accomplished weaver, a champion horsewoman, and a trained opera singer who had studied in Vienna for three years. Her father had a distinguished career in the Canadian railway service. As a result, Theodosia developed a very strong sense of aesthetics, and at an early age sought to surround herself with expressions of fine art, material culture, writing and fine craft. Over her lifetime she built a remarkable collection of Canadian art including works by Lawren Harris, Arthur Lismer, Edwin Holgate, A.Y. Jackson, Albert Robinson, Anne Savage, E.J. Hughes and J.E.H. Macdonald. Many of these works were purchased directly from the artists, or from their dealers as newly available works. This collection was her passion and her pride, a part of her life that she considered essential to her soul. Theodosia’s connection to her art collection ties her childhood experiences and her love of the natural landscape of Canada together. In her childhood, Theodosia’s father was Vice~President and General Manager of Canadian National Railway’s central region. Theodosia was fortunate to have ventured with him to stations along the lines in northern Ontario as a young girl, traveling in his private car “The 91”, and was known to have visited Hornepayne, Oba, Longlac, and Sioux Lookout, all stations north of Lake Superior, and to have been as far north as Churchill, Manitoba. She delighted in these travels and through them her love of the Canadian landscape solidified. While she also traveled to places as far flung as Hong Kong and Calcutta, Canada was her first love. At the age of 16 she attended Elmwood private school in Ottawa, “sleeping over”, as the Montreal students were described as doing, as Elmwood was not a boarding school. She joined her fellow students on various outings to take in cultural sights, and on one of these excursions, she was taken to the National Gallery of Canada to visit the art collections. She was told by her chaperone not to bother visiting “the forbidden room”

where contemporary works by Canadian painters were showing. This would have been an exhibition including works by the Group of Seven. But young Theodosia found the works in the European rooms to be of little interest, and ventured into the off~limits gallery. There, memories of childhood travels with her father flooded back into her mind’s eye as she encountered paintings by Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer and others of the Group and their associates for the first time. The wildness of the works, the joyous natural abandon of the scenes, the celebration of places so very familiar, touched an immediate chord with her. Family recollections state that Theodosia was found transfixed in front of a Lake Superior painting by Lawren Harris after her school chaperone had noticed her absence from the European art tour. “That was the Canada I saw!” she would later say. It was a profound experience that would shape her life and drive her to obsessive, passionate collecting. Her personal connection to the places she saw depicted in these paintings was deep. She had ventured by rail as far west as Jasper, and would later collect several Harris mountain works reminiscent of this region. In the east, she had been as far as Newfoundland, and would also collect a group of Harris works depicting the landscape there. She was in love with the forests, plants and flowers of Canada, creating a garden at her home in the Laurentians with indigenous Quebec plants, all collected by hand with steely determination. Her love of the Canadian wilds caused her to write to Lismer, seeking to buy some of his depictions of tangled undergrowth and wild bracken. These were favourites in her collection. One work, Pines, Georgian Bay, would later appear in the 1951 National Film Board of Canada’s biographical film of Lismer. She would also take painting lessons from Lismer, but her ultimate passion was to be in collecting. Theodosia’s love of the natural world would become an overarching interest that shaped her person. She married Robert Buchanan Thornton (England 1907 ~ Montreal 1991) in 1942. Robert came from an equally remarkable lineage, and shared Theodosia’s love of fine art. His mother, Grace Grier, and father, David Stoddart Thornton, had collected works by Maurice Cullen and Frederick Simpson Coburn. Together, Robert and Theodosia continued the collecting tradition established by their parents and grandparents. Theodosia’s grandmother, Mary Ogden Andrews Wilgress Dawes, had owned a large Cullen pastel, and in the process of building their own collection, the couple would acquire Early Spring, Lower St. Lawrence, a 1936 oil on canvas by A.Y. Jackson, in an “even exchange for Grannie’s large pastel Caché River, Moonlight.”


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

Mrs. Thornton acquired the works that would form her impressive collection from Watson Art Galleries, Laing Galleries and The Fine Art Galleries at The T. Eaton Co. Ltd. in the 1940s and 1950s. She worked closely with Max Stern at the Dominion Gallery in Montreal, who would advise her when new works were available that would be of interest. She wrote personally to Harris as well as to Jackson and Lismer, seeking to acquire works from them. Harris responded to a letter asking for a selection of his available works, sending her three to choose from, and unable to decide, and upon the advice of her husband, she purchased all of the works. She also corresponded with Harris regarding his exhibition plans, and encouraged him to bring a show of his work to Montreal, where “nothing could give us more pleasure than to be able to enjoy and study a whole exhibition by Lawren Harris at last.” Mrs. Thornton’s interest in art and fine craft ran as a thread through every aspect of her life. She was an accomplished photographer, having trained in New York at the Institute of Photography where she won first prize in the February Commercial Competition in 1937. She later became an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and earned her Press Pass for Universal Photographers in 1937. She was a member of the Montreal Camera Club, and produced platinum prints of plants and landscapes using a delicate and chemically demanding developing process. She would later produce colour prints in her home darkroom, which she shared with her husband who was also a photographer. She was a highly intelligent woman who taught herself chemistry and physics in order to accomplish her goals. She experimented with ice cream stabilizers and concepts of engineering, built many things with her own hands and created her own formulas for liquid plastics and other components. She had a global intellect and was interested in everything. She was especially interested in botany and in the indigenous plants of Quebec and was able to name them in Latin, as well as describe their various uses and the native lore surrounding them. She taught herself Greek in order to further her intensive studies of the Bible, and was a great admirer of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. She collected Chinese jade and Canadian books, and created beautiful, powerfully expressive works of her own in needlepoint. A far cry from the typical ladies’ sampler, these works were an additional expression of her fine sense of aesthetic and artistic talent. Above all, her passionate love of the Canadian wilderness, its forests, plants, rocks, waters and weather, drove her collecting. Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton died on October 27, 2009 at the age of 93, and is survived by her daughters Mary and Joan.

77

Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, 1960 Photographic Portrait by Ashley and Crippen, Toronto


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

78

155


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

155 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS 1885 ~ 1970

Low Clouds in the Mountains oil on board, signed and on verso titled, inscribed in graphite with the Doris Mills Inventory #7/40 and stamped Dominion Gallery, circa 1924 ~ 1929 12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal, inventory #F2870, acquired October 1, 1960 for $500 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Lawren Harris, “Theosophy and Art”, The Canadian Theosophist, July 15, 1933, pages 129 ~ 130 Doris Mills, L.S. Harris Inventory, 1936, listed, location noted as the Studio Building, a drawing of this work illustrated by Mills page 36 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R48 Lawren Harris’s mountain paintings, layered with meaning and intellectually rich, are at the same time remarkably simple. They are often objects of pure beauty. “Unfortunately,” Harris would state in 1933, “beauty is something that many of us seem loth to discuss, or to ponder sufficiently, perhaps because it is so intangible, so difficult to get its meaning into precise language; or perhaps because, like many another phases of truth in our day, it has been forced aside by the stridency of life.” Harris believed that beauty was an essential part of truth. Truth was the quest for enlightenment, for a full understanding of the place of man in the universe, of our role in a greater existence than the temporal one. Without appreciation, respect and understanding of beauty, there could be no truth. He wrote, “Beauty is an indissoluble part of all that we consider high, worthy and divine.” He felt that the creative arts were the epitome of beauty, and was compelled to clarify beauty, thus truth, for those of us who were less likely to understand it without his aid. Beauty is forced aside in our modern age. Convenience, cheapness, expediency and sensuality are considered more economically valuable or more powerful as advertising tools. Yet we still crave beauty, and when we

79 encounter it we can find ourselves completely smitten. Low Clouds in the Mountains is such an encounter. Harris’s whole artistic journey was a quest for truth, and truth, in his artistic vocabulary, could be expressed by beauty. But how can this beauty be defined or explained? Perhaps it is the palette ~ soft and rather silvery, delicate and suffused with light ~ or perhaps it is the vantage point from which Harris has set the work, high on a ridge overlooking a soaring mountain. Perhaps it is the atmosphere, in which clouds swirl and encircle the peak before us, yet there is no ominous fear of a storm. Perhaps it is the idea of the mountain as a place of spiritual pilgrimage that most of us, from whatever culture we might have descended, hold somewhere in our anthropological memories. We could define the work’s beauty as a compositional outcome, wherein the contained form of the mountain is captured so very nicely within the edges of the panel, framed by the clouds above and supported by the rock ledge below, with straight line and waved line balanced in a play of vertical and horizontal contrast. The work is, indeed, a technical success. But these definitions cannot fully explain our reaction to it. Beauty just is. This sketch marks a point roughly halfway on Harris’s career journey into abstraction. If we look at Low Clouds in the Mountains purely as a study in pattern, we can see clearly where Harris was heading. Line and shape are contained, just as line and shape would be contained in his later abstractions, taking us into the work, into its very idea, its essential truth. The mountain takes a simple, triangular form, with the distant ridge behind and the sub~peaks to the side echoing the main shape. If we look at this work in terms of colour, we see a small, softly balanced range of blues and some green, with hints of purple and touches of the natural colour of the beaver board showing through the thinly applied paint. If we look at this work in terms of its message, what Harris wants to convey to us, we are joining Harris on the path to truth and beauty. He stated, “For the real message in art is…not an amusement, nor a distraction, nor is it …an escape from life. On the contrary, it is a high training of the soul, essential to the soul’s growth, to its unfoldment. And until such time as we become perfected in beauty, the arts will be for us, of the highest, practical importance, in that they mirror for us, in some degree, the essential order, the dynamic harmony, the ultimate beauty, that we are all in search of, whether consciously or not.”

E STIMATE: $200,000 ~ 300,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

80

156


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

156 ARTHUR LISMER AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA

1885 ~ 1969

Reflections, Georgian Bay oil on board, signed and dated 1946 and on verso signed, titled and inscribed $300 on the Art Association of Montreal label 18 x 23 7/8 in, 45.7 x 60.6 cm P ROVENANCE : A gift from A. Sidney Dawes, May 1949 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Dennis Reid, Canadian Jungle: The Later Work of Arthur Lismer, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1985, page 105, similar 1948 oil sketches entitled Georgian Bay Backwater and Lily Pond, Georgian Bay, in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, reproduced page 80 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R22

E XHIBITED : Art Association of Montreal, 64th Spring Exhibition, 1947 Arthur Lismer’s close~up studies of the colourful still lifes created by the natural world cover territory in Canada from coast to coast. They include starfish stranded on beaches with seashells and kelp, lobster traps mixed with floats and fishing nets, the flotsam and jetsam of the world. His lily ponds and beaver swamps are filled with nature’s debris, and are both simple and complex at once. They are tangled and wild, vigorous and full of energy, glances down to the world beneath our feet. Lismer was a gifted teacher, and art education was as much a passion for him as was his own work. We can see, in his natural still lifes, a youthful reaction to the beauty of the world which was, no doubt, nurtured by his constant championship of art education for children. Lismer believed that art was not something separate and distinct from other activities in life, but a thread that ran through every activity and pursuit in life. He was a reader of Walt Whitman and other transcendentalists, but his approach

81 to art did not follow a purely intellectual path. He responded to feeling in his students, and to feeling in his own work. He saw the natural world as a child of the earth, untamed, uncontrolled perhaps, yet wildly beautiful, an expression of pure art. The east shore of Georgian Bay was a beloved and familiar location for Lismer, who had visited the region first in 1913 with Dr. James MacCallum. Lismer would take his own family there throughout his life on repeated holidays. His daughter Marjorie would later recount, “We rented a cottage on an island in the Georgian Bay area. Housekeeping was simple and we lived most of the time out of doors. Depending on the weather and the choice of subject, he made a sketch in the morning, which took two hours. After a picnic lunch he made another sketch or a drawing before returning to the cottage. In bad weather he would find his subject from the shelter of the porch or through a window.” A period of several weeks was spent at Georgian Bay most summers, where sketching was the primary occupation. Manitou Dock Island was a favoured location to which he returned many times, but in 1946 he chose a spot on Amanda Island in Parry Sound, and it was likely there that this scene caught his eye. It is a wonderful portal~like scene, a little window out onto a small lily~dotted pool. Lismer’s lightened palette is a defining trait in his later works, wherein white is used to its full advantage to convey the sun~bleached details of rocks and deadfall, dried grasses and sunlight on water. In this work, pale~hued fallen leaves float on the water, and trees and sky reflect in its pastel surface. Wildflowers gone to seed are depicted in the small patch of earth in the near ground, while a distant forest frames the far shore. Lismer outlines shapes in black here and there, subtly and with a line of varying width, which accents the white in the work and brings the variety of foliage in the scene into harmony. It is framed within itself, as the boughs of green pine reach in from each side of the work, and driftwood and dried branches fill the crags. Lismer’s love of the natural world is here for us to appreciate in all its simple abandon, untidy and untended, nature’s still life.

E STIMATE: $60,000 ~ 80,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

82

157


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

157 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS

1885 ~ 1970

Mountain Sketch XXXVIII oil on board, signed and on verso signed, titled on the artist’s label, inscribed in graphite with the Doris Mills Inventory #7/38 and stamped Dominion Gallery, Montreal on the frame, circa 1924 ~ 1929 12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist, February 3, 1947 for $75 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Lawren Harris, Personal Papers, National Archives of Canada, MG 30 D 208, Volume 2, unpaginated Doris Mills, L.S. Harris Inventory, 1936, listed, location noted as the Studio Building, a drawing of this work illustrated by Mills page 35 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R5

E XHIBITED : Dominion Gallery, Montreal In the years that Lawren Harris was sketching in the Canadian Rockies, he would have visited the Lake Louise region several times. Mount Temple is the landmark peak there, crowned with its distinctive glacier; the towering, triangular form is the centerpiece from many vantage points in the area. Here, Temple sits like a bookend on the left side of the valley, with Mount Fairview on the right~hand side of the sketch. Just prior to his first visit to the Rockies, Harris had been immersed in the landscape of the North Shore of Lake Superior. What a contrast it must have been for him, with images of a scraped, barren Canadian Shield land in his mind as well as Algoma and the riotous colour of eastern Canadian autumn so recently as his subjects, to visit the Rockies, with their soaring form and limited blue, green, white and brown colour scheme. Almost immediately the Rockies would dominate his work as a subject, and his fascination with them is found in the painterly evidence he has left us: sketchbooks filled with drawings, oil studies such as this, and masterwork studio canvases that grace public and private collections from coast to coast. Mount

83 Temple in particular captured Harris’s imagination, and the distinctive peak is the subject of several important works. Harris would have arrived at Lake Louise by train, then explored the surrounding area on foot. It is interesting to note that the rail tracks continue westward from Lake Louise to Wapta Lake, the jumping off point for Lake O’Hara, and then further west over the Rockies to Vancouver. He would not have had access to this view from the train tracks. As well, the region visible from today’s Columbia Icefields Parkway (the road from Lake Louise to Jasper) would have been some distance away and challenging to reach through the forest, as the road was not built until 1931. To attain the vantage point in this work, Harris would have gone either by horse or on foot to the Pipestone region just northeast of Lake Louise itself. There, one can climb the lower hills to look back towards Temple and Fairview, as we see here. Harris was a robust hiker ~ his works are proof of this strength and indicate that he was unafraid of leaving the trail to survey a scene from a high alpine location. Harris is at a fairly high elevation here, looking out towards the two mountains that sit somewhat below him across a small lake. He looks out on the scene from a low mound of brown earth, edged with the weathered remains of a fallen tree. Fallen trees and mounds such as this appear often in Harris’s mountain works. They are stylistic devices that serve to ground the work and to anchor it in our personal space as we look at it. These little plateaus have the ability to draw us into the work, giving us a place to stand and survey the scene. Harris was an absolute master at doing this, sometimes so subtly that we are almost unaware of what is happening. By welcoming us in this way, he takes us into his vision of the scene, into his personal translation of the actual scenery in such a way that we are silent participants in the painting. It is a powerful technique, through which Harris felt that he could fulfill his obligation as an artist, which for him was far more than the act of painting ~ it was an obligation of the highest order to, as he stated, “perceive within and behind [Nature’s] many garments, that which is timeless and entirely beautiful.” He was bound by artistic duty to convey his higher understanding of nature to us, and in works such as Mountain Sketch XXXVIII, we are pupils standing on our small section of mounded earth, while he is the teacher, showing us the spiritual beauty of the world.

E STIMATE: $250,000 ~ 350,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

84

158


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

158 ARTHUR LISMER AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA

1885 ~ 1969

Small Islands, Georgian Bay oil on board, signed and dated 1948 and on verso signed, titled and inscribed $200 on the Royal Canadian Academy label 18 1/4 x 22 3/4 in, 46.3 x 57.8 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist, January 13, 1949 for $200 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Dennis Reid, Canadian Jungle: The Later Work of Arthur Lismer, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1985, page 54 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R21

E XHIBITED : Art Gallery of Toronto, Royal Canadian Academy, November 19 ~ December 12, 1948, catalogue #96 In this windswept Georgian Bay scene, Arthur Lismer vividly expresses the rhythm and pervasive life~force of this unique place through the wind~whipped trees, churned~up water and an overall directional angle in the work that leans to the left. The rocks are rounded and smooth, scraped into left~leaning forms by time, as water, wind and the relentless forces of nature beat against them. Sunlit and bright, the work seems to almost writhe in the wind. Clouds in the distance, lying low over the waters of the lake, churn in patterns that repeat the shapes of the rocks and reinforce the feeling of movement. The trees on the distant island move together as one synchronized unit and are beaten bare of branches on the one side. In the shelter of a rock, a small patch of delicate green growth defiantly thrives. In the latter part of his career, Lismer’s teaching duties occupied much of his time, but these duties also exposed him to many new ideas. He experimented with different techniques, including wax resist and oriental brushwork, producing large pen and ink and ink wash drawings.

85 Between lectures, conferences and his full~time posts, his art production was greatest while he was holidaying with his family. He drew more and more in ink and charcoal, and sketched in oil. The materials required for these techniques were smaller, lighter, and traveled well. His oil sketching evolved dramatically in the 1940s, and shows his interest in drawing. He was a fine draughtsman, a skill that allowed him to make sense of the tangled little corners of nature that he was so fond of depicting. In sketches such as Small Islands, Georgian Bay, he mixed his paints on the board much more than he had in the past, blending colours with repeated brush~strokes. The thick impastos of the past are smoothed and controlled, and the works have a consistent surface treatment overall, despite the complexity of the jumbles he chose to paint. Even the smallest of marks ~ the dots and dashes that denote leaves, pebbles, flowers and such ~ are consistently rendered. The most obvious change in Lismer’s work of this period is his use of white, which makes his palette much lighter than it had been in the past. He used white throughout his works in both a blended and pure state. The result is that red becomes pink, indigo becomes turquoise, brown becomes pale sandy tan, and so on. There is a delightful lightness to these later sketches, a quality of translucency that reminds us of watercolours, where crisp white paper is the ground and the colours applied to it are transparent. Dennis Reid writes, “It is only in the oil sketches that we can enjoy Lismer’s eccentric yet masterful use of colour…The opalescent hues he discovered at the bottom of tidal pools drew him back again and again.” Lismer’s choice of subject changed too ~ he selects the smaller details of nature over her panoramas. Rocks on the shore were preferred to grand lakes, and instead of depicting the vast, powerful ocean, he focused instead on the items it has tossed onto the beach. He was endlessly fascinated with the little bits of the natural world, and they seem to be presented to us without any adjustments, that is, they are just as he found them. In Small Islands, Georgian Bay, he has found a small, windswept corner of a very familiar place that he had visited many times over the course of his painting life, and captured it in this brilliantly sun~drenched, windswept, energized sketch.

E STIMATE: $60,000 ~ 80,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

86

159

159 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

Jackfish Lake oil on panel, signed and on verso signed and titled, circa 1924 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, 21.6 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Watson Art Galleries, Montreal, inventory #15204, acquired February 4, 1956 for $145 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country, The Autobiography of A.Y. Jackson, 1958, page 46 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R43

A.Y. Jackson’s first sight of the North Shore of Lake Superior was with Lawren Harris in 1921, following a Group of Seven boxcar trip to Algoma. Rather than the wide vistas that captivated Harris, Jackson gravitated to the rocky hills above, looking back to layers of land and more intimate shores, such as Jackfish Lake near Terrace Bay. After this pivotal trip, the North Shore of Lake Superior replaced Algoma as a favourite Group painting place. Jackson returned every year until 1925, and in October of 1924 painted at Jackfish Lake. In his autobiography, Jackson expressed his great regard for Lake Superior, writing, “I know of no more impressive scenery in Canada for the landscape painter. There is a sublime order to it, the long curves of the beaches, the sweeping ranges of hills, and headlands that push out into the lake. Inland there are intimate little lakes, stretches of muskeg, outcrops of rock.” In this classic Group period sketch, Jackson depicts the vital contrast of grey and brown hills and rocks against the glow of autumn foliage, and captures the rugged essence of this stunning landscape.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 30,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

87

160

160 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS 1885 ~ 1970

Woods, Algoma oil on panel, signed and on verso signed, titled, inscribed 11 and stamped Dominion Gallery, circa 1918 10 1/2 x 14 in, 26.7 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal, inventory #D1288, acquired May 29, 1951 for $250 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R33

Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton was an accomplished artist in needlepoint, and this Lawren Harris painting, with its tapestry~like patterning, may have appealed to her for this reason. Additionally, it depicts the lush variety of colour and pattern in the Algoma woods, and Mrs. Thornton was a knowledgeable self~taught botanist. The tall conifers in the scene form a stately backdrop for the tamaracks, seen in a variety of greens from a soft apple green to a bright yellow~green, hues through which tamarack needles move as the days grow shorter. The shrubs in the foreground are jauntily painted. This sketch dates from 1918 and has much in common with the work of Tom Thomson, with whom Harris had been painting until Thomson’s sudden and tragic death the year before. The sky, painted in after the trees were demarked, overlaps the tree boughs in some areas, as does the ochre of the deciduous trees behind the pines on the left. These were the methods of Thomson, to whom Harris might be paying homage in this work.

E STIMATE: $70,000 ~ 90,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

88

161

161 ARTHUR LISMER AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA 1885 ~ 1969

Pool in the Rocks, Georgian Bay / Shoreline, Georgian Bay (verso) double~sided oil on board, signed and dated August 14, 1948 and on verso signed, titled on the artist’s label on the frame and inscribed $85 and dated 1946 12 x 16 in, 30.5 x 40.6 cm

P ROVENANCE : A gift from the Artist, April 15, 1950, for lending Pines, Georgian Bay to the National Film Board for Lismer’s biographical film Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Evan Turner, Eleven Artists in Montreal: 1860 ~ 1960, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1960 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R23


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

89

verso 161

E XHIBITED : The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Eleven Artists in Montreal: 1860 ~ 1960, September 8 ~ October 2, 1960, catalogue #79 From his first experience of Georgian Bay in 1913, staying at the cottage of Group of Seven patron Dr. James MacCallum, Arthur Lismer was impressed by the bay’s wild beauty, and considered it a painter’s paradise. Georgian Bay, with its rocky headlands and islands with windblown pine trees, was one of the areas that the Group felt embodied the rugged power of the Canadian wilderness. Georgian Bay was an important painting place for Lismer, and here his work was transformed by a new, visceral boldness, with the use of brilliant light, clashing hues of colour and expressionist brush~strokes. From the 1920s through the 1940s, Lismer often painted at Georgian Bay, exploring from various bases such as Manitou Dock, McGregor Bay, Copperhead and Amanda Island. This fine double~sided painting examines both the sculptural rock formations at the edge of the Bay and a view through exuberant shore growth to a small island topped by wind~blown pines. In both scenes, Lismer vividly expresses the rhythm and pervasive life~force of this unique place.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 30,000

162

162 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA

1882 ~ 1974

North Shore, Lake Huron oil on panel, signed and on verso signed, titled and dated indistinctly Oct. 1956 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in, 26.7 x 34.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Watson Art Galleries, Montreal, inventory #15859, acquired in November 1956 for $175 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R44

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

90

163

163 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS 1885 ~ 1970

Lake Superior Sketch CXXII oil on panel, signed and on verso signed, titled on the artist’s label and inscribed with the artist’s symbol and in graphite with the Doris Mills Inventory #4/22, circa 1921 ~ 1926 10 3/8 x 14 in, 26.3 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Laing Galleries, Toronto, acquired on November 21, 1960 for $400 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Doris Mills, L.S. Harris Inventory, 1936, listed, location noted as the Studio Building Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R55

The rolling, forested country around Lake Superior consists of exposed Canadian Shield dotted with hundreds of lakes and divided by forests. It is a region of vast skies and vast distances. Lawren Harris was enamoured with the wildness of the scenery, and found endless possibilities in painting this region. He created canvases of glacially scraped rock, sketches of multi~coloured forests, depictions of thick bracken, and studies of the shorelines of cold lakes. In this inviting sketch, we find ourselves looking over the crest of one hill, across the forested valley that is accented with yellow of trees in their fall clothing, and up the steep sides of another humpbacked hill. Harris’s brushwork is liquid and assured ~ he depicts the near hill as a reflection of the sky’s white with a heavy black outline in the shadowed clefts on the rock, and the far hill in a warm ruddy red~brown, with highlights of blue and purple. While at first we might not notice the sky in this work, it is an interesting chalky blue~white, indicative of the end of summer.

E STIMATE: $80,000 ~ 120,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

91

164

164 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS 1885 ~ 1970

Country North of Lake Superior, Northern Sketch XXV oil on board, signed and on verso signed twice, titled on the artist’s label and on the Dominion Gallery label, inscribed in graphite with the Doris Mills Inventory #6/25 and 14 and with the Harris symbol and stamped Dominion Gallery, circa 1921 ~ 1926 10 1/2 x 13 7/8 in, 26.7 x 35.2 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal, inventory #F1288, acquired on May 29, 1951 for $250 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Doris Mills, L.S. Harris Inventory, 1936, listed, location noted as the Studio Building

Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R31 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton was a discriminating woman whose vast collection of artwork contained landscapes depicting places that were of personal significance to her. This rhythmic Lawren Harris scene of rolling, tumbled rock and yellow trees was in her collection. The patterning of the purple~red rock is an interesting contrast to the yellow trees, which we can assume are tamarack larches in their glorious fall colour. Larches are deciduous conifers, with needles that act like leaves. They first turn a light, golden yellow, then fade to saffron yellow and are finally shed, leaving the branches bare over the winter months. Tamaracks are tough and very cold hardy. They grow in the less hospitable places, above the deciduous tree line in the west, and in exposed, harsh regions such as this cliff face in Lake Superior country in the east, where they put on a glorious annual display. Similar in palette to Harris’s magnificent canvas Waterfall, Algoma, in the collection of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, this work is a close~up depiction of a similar place in the fall ~ with its waterfalls dry and the trees golden.

E STIMATE: $80,000 ~ 120,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

92

165

165 ARTHUR LISMER AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA 1885 ~ 1969

Edge of the Bush, Georgian Bay oil on board, signed and dated 1946 and on verso signed, titled and dated on the artist’s label 12 x 15 3/4 in, 30.5 x 40 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist on January 13, 1949 for $37.50 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Evan Turner, Eleven Artists in Montreal: 1860 ~ 1960, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1960 Lois Darroch, Bright Land, A Warm Look at Arthur Lismer, 1981, page 104 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R17

E XHIBITED : The Fine Art Galleries, T. Eaton Co. Ltd., Toronto Montreal Musem of Fine Arts, Eleven Artists in Montreal: 1860 ~ 1960, September 8 ~ October 2, 1960, catalogue #77

After a break in the early 1940s, Arthur Lismer resumed his pattern of spending part of his summers in Georgian Bay in 1946. He painted not only views of high sky and low islands, but also the inner forest. Lois Darroch observes, “Lismer said his Group friends stepped right over the foreground of their paintings as if it did not exist.” Now Lismer focused on the cycle of life present in the tapestry of undergrowth rising from the forest floor, contrasting the decay of stumps and logs with fresh new growth and vital trees wresting their life from the soil, amid the powerful rocks of the Canadian Shield. Expressionist brush~strokes convey vitality, and his tonal palette of greens and browns is invigorated with touches of pink and blue. Their challenge of survival under the onslaught of the blustery north wind is expressed through their twisting movements. From this jumble, Lismer could read the patterns of nature, pull them into clarity and express the spirit of this place. Lismer produced iconic works from Georgian Bay; one of the best~known forest floor works being the 1947 canvas Canadian Jungle, in the McMichael Canadian Collection.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 25,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

93

166

166 ARTHUR LISMER AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA 1885 ~ 1969

Pines and Sumac, Georgian Bay oil on board, signed and dated 1946 and on verso signed, titled and dated on the artist’s label 12 x 15 3/4 in, 30.5 x 40 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist, January 13, 1949 for $37.50 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Lois Darroch, Bright Land, A Warm Look at Arthur Lismer, 1981, page 104 Jean Blodgett, Megan Bice et al, The McMichael Canadian Collection, 1989, similar 1933 oil entitled McGregor Bay reproduced page 82 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R19

Arthur Lismer considered that he found himself as a painter at McGregor Bay on Georgian Bay. Like other Group members, such as J.E.H. MacDonald with Algoma, Lismer had found a painting place where the land transformed his work, and in the 1925 Group of Seven show his paintings of Georgian Bay were acclaimed as a leap forward. Lois Darroch states, “Lismer’s sense of the everlasting came through a feeling for a life force,” and in his Georgian Bay paintings, the life force of the land and his consciousness of it is palpable. Pines and Sumac, Georgian Bay is similar in composition to his 1930s Georgian Bay paintings, such as the 1933 oil McGregor Bay, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. However, by the 1940s his brush~stroke was more expressionist, with thickly applied paint emphatically incised with deep lines. In this richly textured work, an explosion of radiant yellow in the foreground and scattered strokes of red and pink light up the painting. It is a classic Lismer subject, with trees sculpted by the wind against a brilliant sky, assured and radiant, full of the joyous energy of a summer’s day.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 25,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

94

167

167 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS 1885 ~ 1970

Newfoundland Coast oil on board, signed and on verso signed, titled and inscribed with the artist’s symbol, 1921 10 1/2 x 13 3/4 in, 26.7 x 34.9 cm P ROVENANCE : Laing Galleries, Toronto, acquired on November 21, 1960 for $400 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R52 Lawren Harris explored Newfoundland in the spring of 1921, visiting a number of communities along the coast. He sketched harbour scenes, fishing villages, homes and abandoned warehouses. Here Harris’s subject

is the land itself, a rough uninhabited cliff face marked by the ravages of the sea. The distinctive red earth of the east coast of Canada is reflected in the unusually calm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, which lap at the cliff faces in small froths of white. Harris’s fluid brushwork is consistent throughout the work, which is handled smoothly all over, with the assured and deft strokes of a practiced plein air sketcher. As is so often the case in Harris’s works, we look across a distance at the main cliff face from a relatively secure vantage point on the near cliff. And, as is also often the case in his works, we view the scene from a position that seems to be in the air, somewhat above the surface of the land, as if we are levitating, which gives the works a feeling of lightness and ascendancy.

E STIMATE: $50,000 ~ 70,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

95

168

168 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA

1882 ~ 1974

Fish Racks, Fort Resolution oil on panel, signed and on verso titled, 1928 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, 21.6 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Watson Art Galleries, Montreal, acquired February 4, 1956 for $145 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country, The Autobiography of A.Y. Jackson, 1958, page 100 Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R41 In July of 1928, A.Y. Jackson traveled north, in the company of Dr. Frederick Banting, by sternwheeler upriver to Fort Smith, then by scow

down the Slave River to Fort Resolution on the shore of Great Slave Lake. As Jackson stated, “This was a part of their country few Canadians at that time knew anything about.” It was blazing hot and biting insects troubled their sketching, but Jackson was struck by the experience of the North’s endless summer days, northern lights and the opalescent colours that shimmered on the lake. Miners, prospectors and First Nations peoples called the Yellowknives populated Fort Resolution, although the Yellowknives had fled the Fort that summer due to an influenza epidemic. This vivid Group of Seven period sketch captures a picturesque lakeshore strewn with boats and racks used for drying fish. Reflections in the lake of the summer sky and shadowy fish racks give the work a dreamy atmosphere. This trip fired Jackson’s desire to further explore the untamed expanses of the Northwest Territories, and in future trips, he explored onward to Great Bear Lake and the Barren Lands.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 25,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

96

169

169 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA

1882 ~ 1974

Winter, Montpelier

170

170 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA

1882 ~ 1974

Late Winter, Wakefield, Que.

oil on panel, signed and on verso signed, titled, dated April 1959 and stamped Dominion Gallery on the frame 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in, 26.7 x 34.3 cm

oil on panel, signed and on verso signed on the panel and on the frame, titled, dated April 1950 and stamped Dominion Gallery 8 3/8 x 10 3/8 in, 21.3 x 26.3 cm

P ROVENANCE :

P ROVENANCE :

Dominion Gallery, Montreal, inventory #E2830, acquired on December 7, 1959 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

Dominion Gallery, Montreal, inventory #B1258, acquired on May 10, 1954 for $75 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE :

L ITERATURE :

Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R46

Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R37

E STIMATE : $15,000 ~ 20,000

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

97

171

171 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA

1882 ~ 1974

Autumn, Renfrew oil on panel, signed and on verso dated October, 1954 and inscribed Mrs. RB Thornton / Alex Stewart / Walter Stewart 10 3/8 x 13 3/8 in, 26.3 x 34 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist, November 29, 1954 for $60 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R39

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000

172

172 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA

1882 ~ 1974

Hazzard’s Corner, Windy Day oil on panel, signed and on verso signed, titled, dated October 4, 1954 and inscribed Jane Stewart and Mrs. R.B. Thornton 10 3/8 x 13 3/8 in, 26.3 x 34 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist, November 29, 1954 for $60 Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R38

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

98

PROPERTY OF VARIOUS COLLECTORS

173

173 DAVID BROWN MILNE CGP CSGA CSPWC 1882 ~ 1953

Light Clouds and Long Shadows (Palgrave) oil on canvas, signed and dated 1932 and on verso inscribed 89, with the Massey Inventory #49 and the Laing reference 39 12 x 16 1/8 in, 30.5 x 41 cm P ROVENANCE : Milne sale to the Right Honourable Charles Vincent Massey, Toronto, 1934 Laing Galleries, Toronto, 1958 Private Collection, West Vancouver, acquired from the above in 1958 By descent to the present Private Collection, Victoria

L ITERATURE : David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings Volume 2: 1929 ~ 1953, 1998, reproduced page 547, catalogue #302.161, a similar work reproduced page 490, catalogue #302.4

David Milne moved to Palgrave, in the Caledon hills northwest of Toronto, in 1930. In his three years there, he was financially limited due to the Depression, but richly productive artistically. In this time, he rarely left Palgrave, and all his subjects, such as this grain elevator, were within a short walk from his home. He painted some subjects repeatedly, in different lights or times of day. The elevator was his first subject there and he did a series of works based on it ~ 15 views are listed in the catalogue raisonné. In regard to this tranquil work, Milne revealed that “Part of the serenity of this is association rather than aesthetic; you read it as a still evening.” Milne used a carefully controlled palette, and with a refined, spare use of line, defined the buildings low on the horizon. The greater emphasis is on the sky, and with the inclusion of just a few clouds hovering over the elevator, Milne creates a mood of expansiveness and contemplation. Light Clouds and Long Shadows (Palgrave)’s sheer simplicity is sublime.

E STIMATE: $30,000 ~ 50,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

99

L ITERATURE: Paul Rodrik and Frances~Anne Johnston, Rodrik / Johnston, Trent University, 1973, reproduced page 21 Roger Burford Mason, A Grand Eye for Glory, A Life of Franz Johnston, 1998, page 35

E XHIBITED : Champlain College, Trent University, Peterborough, Rodrik / Johnston, March 27 ~ April 18, 1973 Frank Johnston left the Group of Seven in 1924 to pursue his own individual path, and Indian at Night is an outstanding example of Johnston’s expression of individuality, revealing a penchant for paintings that had a romantic appeal to the imagination. Johnston did a number of stirring works involving native people, and in this large and impressive painting portrays the native man as noble, heroic and connected with nature. Johnston was a master of the medium of tempera ~ a mixture of colour pigment and egg white ~ and it was predominant in his oeuvre. As Roger Mason writes, his tempera paintings are “brilliant expositions of the insubstantial interplay of colour, light and pattern in the sky, foliage, rock and water.” A well~known tempera masterwork by Johnston is A Northern Night, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, a stunning 1917 winter scene dominated by a sky full of stars and northern lights. In Indian at Night, Johnston also makes us conscious of the limitless sky ~ beyond the rock the native man is standing on, there is no reference point. Alone, he is at one with the wild, gazing at the immensity.

E STIMATE : $50,000 ~ 70,000 174

174 FRANK HANS (FRANZ) JOHNSTON ARCA CSPWC G7 OSA 1888 ~ 1949

Indian at Night tempera on artist’s board on masonite, signed Frank H. Johnston and dated 1926 37 7/8 x 30 in, 96.2 x 76.2 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Toronto Private Collection, Vancouver


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

100

175


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

175 MAURICE GALBRAITH CULLEN AAM RCA 1866 ~ 1934

Moonlight on the Cache oil on canvas, signed and on verso titled, dated 1915 on the Galerie Walter Klinkhoff label and certified by Cullen Inventory #1045 30 1/2 x 40 1/2 in, 77.5 x 102.9 cm P ROVENANCE : Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal Private Collection, USA

L ITERATURE : R.W. Pilot, Maurice Cullen, Art Gallery of Hamilton, 1956, unpaginated Evelyn de R. McMann, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts / Académie royale des arts du Canada, Exhibitions and Members 1880 ~ 1979, 1981, listed page 90 D. Bomford et al, Art in the Making: Impressionism, The National Gallery, 1990, page 23

E XHIBITED : Royal Canadian Academy, Montreal, 33rd Spring Exhibition, 1916, catalogue #45 (remnants of the label on verso) Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto, 1917 The Cache River in the Laurentians was one of Maurice Cullen’s favourite subjects. Cullen wanted to give us a glimpse of this wild place covered by snow, in the middle of night. One does not see the moon, only its reflection in the river. In the foreground, trees create curving decorative lines, but the background reveals only dark silhouettes of trees against a blue~grey sky. In Moonlight on the Cache, Cullen has succeeded in fixing one moment in time. He is quoted by his stepson, the painter Robert Pilot, as having said: “At some hour of the day the commonest subject is beautiful.” One of the challenges of Impressionism was to paint the instant. Think of the admirable series painted by Claude Monet on the theme of haystacks, or of the façade of the cathedral of Rouen at different hours of the day and seasons of the year. Movement seems out of the reach

101 of painting as such, but if you could paint the instant, you could capture a changing phenomenon, like the moon appearing or disappearing in the clouds, creating a reflection in the river, which, a moment later, could disappear. There is a famous 1869 painting by Édouard Manet, Moonlight Over the Port of Boulogne, in the collection of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, on the theme of moonlight appearing in the clouds. Cullen has succeeded admirably in conveying a similar fugitive impression in Moonlight on the Cache, but in a much more challenging environment. To paint the instant is to compete with photography, and as in photography, to give a strong feeling of the presence of the artist at the location of what he is representing. Impressionists gave immense importance to the presence of the artist in front of his motif. For them, the fact that the artist was on the spot was a sign of his sincerity and of the truth of his rendering. Nothing was constructed, like a painting in a studio done from many sketches taken at different times. Émile Zola, for instance, detested Jean~Baptiste~Camille Corot’s exhibition pictures, preferring “a thousand times a pochade, an esquisse painted by him in the open countryside, face to face with the powerful reality.” Is that not exactly what Cullen’s painting is all about? The “powerful reality” here is a wild corner of the forest of northern Quebec, without any sign of human presence, except maybe the traces of the artist’s boots in the snow around the trees in the foreground. This lesson would be taken over by the members of the Group of Seven. They proposed the image of the artist as a trailblazer, as a canoeist, as an explorer, rather than a well~mannered individual sitting in front of a canvas on an easel in a studio. They wanted to convey the same intense involvement in their subject matter, the same sincerity, and the same truth as the photographer carrying his heavy equipment in the middle of nowhere, in the Rockies or elsewhere. One should not forget that they were following the traces of Cullen. We thank François~Marc Gagnon of the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute of Studies in Canadian Art, Concordia University, for contributing the above essay.

E STIMATE: $150,000 ~ 250,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

102

176


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

176 MAURICE GALBRAITH CULLEN AAM RCA 1866 ~ 1934

Spring Scene, St. Marguerite oil on canvas, signed and on verso titled on the Dominion Gallery label, certified by Cullen Inventory #1373 and stamped Dominion Gallery, circa 1905 23 5/8 x 32 in, 60 x 81.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., Vancouver Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Kathleen Daly Pepper, James Wilson Morrice, page x in forematter, 1966 D. Bomford et al, Art in the Making: Impressionism, The National Gallery, 1990, page 28 It is difficult for us to appreciate the ground~breaking uniqueness of Maurice Cullen’s landscapes in their time. Since then, the Group of Seven had done so much to make all aspects of the Canadian landscape familiar to us, that we fail to recognize the pioneering work done by Cullen before them. It was not at all certain that our country was picturesque, that is to say interesting enough to be painted, before artists like Cullen or James Wilson Morrice convinced their younger followers that it was. A.Y. Jackson writes, in the foreword to Kathleen Daly Pepper’s book James Wilson Morrice, that there was a time when no Canadian subject was believed to be worthy of being painted, or was considered pittoresco in the etymological sense of the word. He quoted an elderly lady of his acquaintance, whose house was full of second~grade European pictures: “It’s bad enough to have to live in this country,” she said, “without having pictures of it in your home.” Jackson was convinced that Morrice and Cullen were the first Canadian painters to have opened our eyes “to things no one ever thought of painting.”

103 Cullen was fortunate to have been in contact with the Impressionists in Paris, and to learn from them the importance of plein air painting, in which the artist sought to capture the effects of light and atmosphere by painting works out of doors. The Impressionists, and Claude Monet above all, were promoting the idea that they were working out of doors producing complete paintings at a single stroke. Monet is quoted as having said to Émile Taboureux in 1880: “My studio! But I have never had a studio, and I don’t understand how someone could shut himself up in a room!” In fact, the reality was a little bit different ~ not every Impressionist painter was claiming the same thing. Pierre~Auguste Renoir, for instance, was not shy to admit that he sketched in front of the motif, but finished his paintings in the studio, like Jean~Baptiste~Camille Corot. One does not have to think much about the special challenge faced by Cullen to paint out of doors during the cold seasons in Canada, to believe that he could also alternate between rapid sketches on the motif and finishing his painting in the studio. In Spring Scene, St. Marguerite, snow still covers the land, the river is half frozen and the pink morning sky feels chilly. But Cullen, like any other defender of plein air painting, could not have got the proper hues of the brambles in the foreground, the subtle colour of the sky and the reflection of the landscape in the water, if he had not finished his painting in the studio. What was important was to get the proper effect. In addition, he had very few models from which he could have taken inspiration among the Impressionists. Monet, for example, who painted during the winter in Vétheuil, could not have been of great help to Cullen, who was painting in Canada at exactly the same period but in a much more snowy place than Vétheuil could ever be. Spring Scene, St. Marguerite is a particularly fine example of a painting that conveys the effect of an early spring morning in a vast open space, still covered by snow, under a pink sky typical of Canada. We thank François~Marc Gagnon of the Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute of Studies in Canadian Art, Concordia University, for contributing the above essay.

E STIMATE: $100,000 ~ 150,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

104

177


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

177 LAWREN STEWART HARRIS ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS 1885 ~ 1970

Country North of Lake Superior oil on board, on verso signed, titled and inscribed in graphite with the Doris Mills Inventory #4/70, 69 ~ 18 / P [Peggy Knox] and on a label Lawren Harris Collection of Sketches and Drawings (Selected by Bess Harris) / Title: Country North of Lake Superior (oil) / Date: 1925 / Collection Number: Thirty~six (36) / National Gallery of Canada and signed on the label by Bess Harris, 1925 12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Bess Harris Collection, Vancouver Margaret Knox, Vancouver (daughter of the Artist) Heffel Gallery Limited, Vancouver Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Doris Mills, L.S. Harris Inventory, 1936, listed, location noted as the Studio Building, a drawing of this work illustrated by Mills page 13, catalogue #4/70 Bess Harris and R.G.P. Colgrove, Lawren Harris, 1969, page 7, reproduced page 110 Fine Examples, Emily Carr, Lawren S. Harris, Walter J. Phillips, Heffel Gallery Limited, 1994, listed, unpaginated

105

E XHIBITED : Heffel Gallery Limited, Vancouver, Fine Examples, Emily Carr, Lawren S. Harris, Walter J. Phillips, September 17 ~ October 1, 1994, reproduced, unpaginated Lawren Harris wrote, “My work was founded on a long and growing love and understanding of the North, of being permeated with its spirit. I felt the strange brooding lonely presence of nature fostering a new race, a new age, and as part of it, a new expression in art.” In this insight is the generative seed of what first began around Lake Superior and ended in the Arctic before Harris’s move to abstraction ~ his drive to express, by paring the landscape down to its essentials, the spirit of the land as he perceived it. In this starkly beautiful painting, Harris strips out extraneous details, leaving sculpted rocks and hills rolling under a cloud~layered sky, thereby intensifying mood, giving form deeper meaning and projecting a sense of living presence. There is a strong directional feeling in this clean and austere work; it leads both outward and upward. This is indicative of the overwhelming vastness of the geography of Lake Superior’s North Shore that so struck Harris when he was working there, as well as the increasingly mystical approach to subject matter that was unfolding in Harris’s work. Bess Harris selected works for a project at the National Gallery of Canada, of which this fine work was one. However, this never came to fruition.

E STIMATE: $100,000 ~ 150,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

106

178

178 MAURICE GALBRAITH CULLEN AAM RCA 1866 ~ 1934

A Creek, Cache River oil on canvas, signed and on verso titled on the Dominion Gallery label and certified by Cullen Inventory #1296 15 x 18 in, 38.1 x 45.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Dominion Gallery, Montreal Galerie l’Art Français Ltée., Montreal Private Collection, Montreal One of Canada’s finest Impressionist painters, Maurice Cullen absorbed the innovations of French Impressionism while studying and painting in Paris, beginning in 1888. While there, he exhibited with the Paris Salon ~

organized by the Societé Nationale des Beaux~Arts ~ in 1894, and in 1895 became the first Canadian to be elected an associate member. In 1895 he returned to Montreal, bringing with him a fresh approach to the unique atmosphere of Quebec landscape. The Laurentians were a beloved painting place for Cullen, and in 1922 he built a cabin at Lac Tremblant on the Cache River. Skiing or snowshoeing from his cabin, Cullen would paint on the spot. Rivers in winter, particularly the Cache River, were a great enduring subject for Cullen, and this painting, with its striking colouration and capturing of ephemeral effects of light, is a superb example. Stunning contrasts are created by the shadowed foreground of dark trees lit by snow and inky water tinged with translucent green against the hillside behind aflame with sunset. Splashes of pale blue across snow and trees and copper points of light reflected in the river complete the chromatic delight.

E STIMATE: $30,000 ~ 40,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

107

179

179 FRANK HANS (FRANZ) JOHNSTON ARCA CSPWC G7 OSA

1888 ~ 1949

Shadowed Pools

181

181 ROBERT WAKEHAM PILOT CGP OSA PRCA

1898 ~ 1967

Winter, Ste~Adèle

oil on board, signed and on verso titled on the artist’s label 22 x 28 in, 55.9 x 71.1 cm

oil on panel, signed 12 3/4 x 17 in, 32.4 x 43.2 cm

P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Ontario

Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., Vancouver Private Collection, Vancouver

E STIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,000

E STIMATE: $7,000 ~ 9,000

P ROVENANCE :

180 PELEG FRANKLIN BROWNELL CAC OSA RCA

1857 ~ 1946

Winter, Feeding the Horses / Landscape (verso) double~sided oil on board, signed 12 x 18 in, 30.5 x 45.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Ontario

E STIMATE: $8,000 ~ 12,000

180


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

108

182

182 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

St~Urbain, Quebec / Village (verso) double~sided oil on panel, signed and dated 1929 and on verso titled and dated April 1929 8 3/4 x 10 1/2 in, 22.2 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : By descent to the present Private Collector, Arizona

L ITERATURE : Naomi Jackson Groves, A.Y.’s Canada, 1968, page 70 St~Urbain was on the “artist trail”, as Naomi Jackson Groves describes it, an age~old road leading out from Baie~Saint~Paul, much traveled by painters and particularly by A.Y. Jackson. Charlevoix County retained many special ancient features in its buildings, and Jackson treasured this

verso detail 182


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

109

town for its fine churches, wood frame houses and old barns ~ and for its lack of straight lines. Everywhere in St~Urbain telephone poles lean, split~wood fences organically define fields and hilly land rolls, creating a rhythm that Jackson was well~known for depicting. Early spring, with the effects that the softening of the sun in the day and overnight freezing had on the shaping of snow, added even more texture and shape to his subject. Details such as the quintessential horse and sleigh making its way up the furrowed track of the old road bring the warmth of human presence into this rural landscape. This Group of Seven period double~sided panel includes both this intimate view of St~Urbain, an outstanding example of Jackson’s potent images of Quebec’s historic rural villages, and on verso a verdant and colourful village scene, painted with lush brush~strokes.

E STIMATE: $40,000 ~ 60,000

183 ALFRED LALIBERTÉ RCA SSC 1878 ~ 1953

Le casseur de pierre bronze sculpture, signed and titled, circa 1928 ~ 1932 16 1/4 x 11 1/2 x 13 in, 41.3 x 29.2 x 33 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Laurent Bouchard, Les bronzes d’Alfred Laliberté, Collection du Musée du Québec, 1978, same image reproduced page 61 One of Quebec’s most celebrated sculptors, Alfred Laliberté was skilled in working in bronze, marble, wood and plaster. Laliberté was awarded public commissions, including monuments to well~known figures such as Wilfred Laurier, Dollard des Ormeaux and Louis Hébert. Le casseur de pierre, which translates as The Stone Breaker, exemplifies his ability to find inspiration in the life of the people in his native Eastern Townships. He is best known for his series of small bronzes that celebrate the legends, customs and trades of rural Quebec.

E STIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,000

183


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

110

184

184 EMILY CARR BCSFA RCA

1871 ~ 1945

The Forest Swirl oil on paper on board, signed with the estate stamp and on verso stamped Dominion Gallery 24 x 36 in, 61 x 91.4 cm P ROVENANCE : Estate of Emily Carr Dominion Gallery, Montreal The Art Emporium, Vancouver, June 1972 Private Collection, Montreal, acquired from the above in 1972

L ITERATURE : Emily Carr, Hundreds and Thousands, The Journals of Emily Carr, 2006, pages 185 and 264

Emily Carr’s discovery of the medium of oil on paper thinned with turpentine or gasoline gave her great freedom to express the energy and spiritual presence that she felt in the forest. The Forest Swirl is a fine example of Carr’s perception that “Life is sweeping through the spaces. Everything is alive.” In forested areas near Victoria, Carr often sought views from clearings such as in this green and glowing inner forest work. Ensconced on her camp stool, painting with flowing brush~strokes, she expressed all the different energies in the forest like a conductor of music ~ from the tender and joyous to the deep sonorous tones of ancient trees ~ life in all its stages. Behind the central forest giant peeks a tender young tree ~ Carr took joy in these contrasts and in the movement of these young ones, and wrote, “The little pines are very feminine and they are always on the swirl and dance in May and June.” Form is deconstructed ~ only the central tree is a solid anchor ~ with all else loosely defined by sweeping paint strokes that express Carr’s profound awareness of the energy moving through all life forms.

E STIMATE: $100,000 ~ 150,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

111

185

185 FREDERICK ARTHUR VERNER ARCA OSA 1836 ~ 1928

Canoe Encampment watercolour on paper, signed and dated 1885 12 3/8 x 24 1/4 in, 31.4 x 61.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Heffel Gallery Limited, Vancouver Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Joan Murray, The Last Buffalo: The Story of Frederick Arthur Verner, 1984, page 19, a similar 1896 watercolour entitled Indian Encampment reproduced page 14 Frederick Verner documented early life in western Canada, and was one of the artists who traveled west on the newly built Canadian Pacific Railway. He was well known for his authentically detailed paintings of First Nations subjects in scenes such as this natural and engaging watercolour. The historical value of these works was recognized during his lifetime, and one review claimed that he had taken up “the mantle fallen from the shoulders of the late Paul Kane.�

E STIMATE: $12,000 ~ 16,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

112

186


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

186 EMILY CARR BCSFA RCA 1871 ~ 1945

Village Track, Brittany oil on canvas, signed with the estate stamp, circa 1911 15 1/8 x 18 1/4 in, 38.4 x 46.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Estate of Emily Carr Dominion Gallery, Montreal Sold sale of Topographical Pictures, Christie’s, London, July 15, 1994, lot 90 Heffel Gallery Limited, Vancouver, 1994 Private Collection, Calgary Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 27, 1999, lot 92 Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Fine Examples: Emily Carr, Lawren S. Harris, Walter J. Phillips, Heffel Gallery Limited, 1994, reproduced front cover Jay Stewart et al, Emily Carr: New Perspectives on a Canadian Icon, National Gallery of Canada, 2006, essay by Johanne Lamoureux, “The Other French Modernity of Emily Carr”, pages 44 and 45

E XHIBITED : Heffel Gallery Limited, Vancouver, Fine Examples: Emily Carr, Lawren S. Harris, Walter J. Phillips, September 17 ~ October 1, 1994

113 Emily Carr’s trip to France from 1910 to 1911 had a profound effect on the course of her work ~ from this experience she emerged a modern artist. Carr’s work shows the influence of Post~Impressionist directions set by Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and the Fauves. She studied with artists John Duncan Fergusson, Frances Hodgkins and Harry Phelan Gibb, but it was Gibb who influenced her most profoundly. With him, she painted en plein air in the French countryside, and her palette changed, affected by what she called the “rich, delicious juiciness in his colour, [the] interplay between warm and cool tones.” In France, Carr also found that her differences from normal society and her rebelliousness were acceptable. As Johanne Lamoureux writes, “In France, Carr at last discovered an artistic milieu where, as Blanchard puts it, ‘it was taken for granted that the best artists swam against the current of society.’” Carr felt deeply in tune with Brittany, with its simple village life lived in harmony with the land. Village Track, Brittany is a superb painting that exhibits Carr’s advances in colour and light through luscious pastels, contrasting hues and fresh, bright atmosphere. Most of Carr’s Brittany works were painted on board ~ Village Track, Brittany is one of her rare canvases of this subject.

E STIMATE: $75,000 ~ 95,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

114

187

187 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

River in Autumn oil on canvas, signed 16 x 20 in, 40.6 x 50.8 cm P ROVENANCE : Roberts Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto After the Group of Seven dissolved in the early 1930s, A.Y. Jackson became one of the driving forces behind the Canadian Group of Painters, a larger organization that included artists from coast to coast. Jackson severed his ties with the Royal Canadian Academy ~ as a modernist, he could not remain a part of it. He remained based at the Studio Building

in Toronto, and continued his peripatetic life, crossing the country from Quebec to British Columbia and up to the Northwest Territories on his painting trips. Jackson’s formal abilities remained focused on revealing the essential spirit of the land he contemplated. River in Autumn is a quintessential Jackson image ~ it could be Georgian Bay, the Great Bear Lake region, or northern Quebec. Wild and elemental, it juxtaposes fluid water and sky with scrub trees and solid rock formations. Jackson’s characteristic rhythm is found in the zigzag course of the river and the curve of the trees shaped by wind. Shimmering light on the water and a strong contrast between blues and a rich tapestry of autumn oranges and reds laid down with a painterly brush~stroke convey the vitality of this fine autumn scene.

E STIMATE: $40,000 ~ 60,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

115

188

188 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

Farm Buildings in Spring, Co. Charlevoix oil on panel, signed and on verso signed, titled and dated 1928 on the artist’s label 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, 21.6 x 26.7 cm P ROVENANCE : Warwick Gallery Ltd., Vancouver Private Collection, Vancouver An 80~mile stretch on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River, and eastward into Charlevoix County, was a favourite region for A.Y. Jackson’s late winter sketching trips; for many years, from 1923 on, it was a yearly pilgrimage. With the Laurentian mountains in the distance overlooking

rural villages and farms, this country was both intimate and grand. It was molded by the action of glaciers, and Jackson was fond of the rolling rhythm of the countryside ~ its roads that meandered, its snake fences that followed the rise and fall of the land, its farms and old barns, of which he was an aficionado. Charlevoix County was noted for its distinctive barns, which retained more ancient features than elsewhere, including both thatched and shingled roofs. Jackson especially liked long~lined farm structures that had weathered and settled into the earth, showing bumps and sags. Farm Buildings in Spring, Co. Charlevoix is a superb Group of Seven period sketch with a subject that Jackson was renowned for ~ Quebec rural countryside in winter painted with fluid brushwork, a fine eye for composition and a sensitive palette featuring delicate tints in the snow.

E STIMATE: $40,000 ~ 50,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

116

189

189 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

Spring Prospect, Poltimore, Quebec oil on canvas, signed and on verso titled and dated 1964 16 x 20 1/4 in, 40.6 x 51.4 cm P ROVENANCE : Acquired directly from the Artist by the present Private Collection, Ontario In 1955, A.Y. Jackson left the famous Studio Building in Toronto and moved to Manotick, near Ottawa, where he constructed a studio. Then in 1962, he moved out of the Manotick studio to a studio in Ottawa. By changing his centre, he changed the pattern of his artistic stomping grounds, and the North and South Shores of the St. Lawrence were

replaced by the Gatineau and Ottawa Valley regions in his work. The location of this sketch, Poltimore, is situated in a valley between the Gatineau and Lièvre Rivers, north of Gatineau, Quebec and Ottawa. This is a classic Jackson scene ~ a rural farm with a barn ~ and the warm affection that Jackson felt for such subjects over the decades can still clearly be felt. Jackson greatly appreciated traditional Quebec barns, and here has even included its inhabitants ~ a small herd of cows. The break~up of winter has begun, with small pools of blue water gathering in the melting snow. Once again, Jackson captures the continuity of the seasons and the nostalgic charm of the Quebec countryside.

E STIMATE: $30,000 ~ 50,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

117

190

190 ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) JACKSON ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 ~ 1974

Country North of Knob Lake, Que. oil on panel, signed and on verso titled, dated Schefferville, June 6, 1961 and inscribed cold windy day and Klinkhoff Gallery, 1200 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 in, 26.7 x 34.3 cm P ROVENANCE : Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal Masters Gallery, Calgary Private Collection, Toronto To roam in search of fine sketching ground was A.Y. Jackson’s great joy, and he continued his travels almost to the end of his life. He enjoyed journeying with fellow artists, and from May 27 to June 15, 1961,

Jackson went with Maurice Haycock to the Quebec~Labrador border to a new mining area. They painted around Schefferville for about ten days and spent the balance of the time at Carol Lake. When sketching out of doors, Jackson’s goal was to capture the light, colour, form and texture of the scene that he chose, and in this work he used soft, flowing brush~strokes to denote the low ridges of land, punctuated by rocky outcroppings and scrubby growth. His was a direct, physical response to form ~ he always felt the rhythm present in the topography, reflected here in the layers of open land. Jackson notes that it was a cold, windy day, and he makes us feel it in the moody clouds, the absence of bright colour and the chill shreds of leftover snow or ice ~ finding the truth in the land, a core tenet of the Group of Seven.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

118

191


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

191 FREDERICK HORSMAN VARLEY ARCA G7 OSA 1881 ~ 1969

BC Coast oil on panel, signed and dated 1927 and on verso signed, titled in graphite and on a gallery label BC Coast ~ North Shore Mountains from Pt. Grey Road, inscribed in graphite 3857 Point Grey Road, Thorley Park, Vancouver, BC and stamped with the Varley Inventory #769 12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Private Collection, Vancouver Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, November 9, 2000, lot 210 Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Christopher Varley, F.H. Varley, The Edmonton Art Gallery, 1981, page 110 Peter Varley, Frederick H. Varley, 1983, page 61 In 1926, Frederick Varley left his teaching position at the Ontario College of Art and traveled to Vancouver to teach at the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts. Here he made a fresh start, acting as Head of Drawing, Painting and Composition, and found both an enthusiastic group of students who appreciated him and stimulating and empathetic colleagues, such as painter Jock Macdonald, who stated that Varley “laid the cornerstone of imaginative and creative painting in BC.” E.J. Hughes and Philip Surrey were two artists who greatly benefited from Varley’s teaching. Although Varley found Vancouver to be culturally isolated, he formed friendships with other interesting people in the arts, such as photographer John Vanderpant. Admired by his students, connected to the nucleus of the small art community, and with ample raw material for painting on his doorstep, Varley was fired up, and launched into a highly fulfilling period in his career. He was immediately enthralled by the stunning mountain views in and around Vancouver, that constantly changed due to ephemeral light and weather effects. Varley wrote to fellow Group of Seven artist Arthur Lismer that “British Columbia’s wilderness surpassed that of Georgian

119 Bay or Lake Superior, its inland forms as romantic as Wagner’s music.” In 1927 he took up residence in The Bungalow at 3857 Point Grey Road, overlooking Jericho Beach, Georgia Strait, Bowen Island and the North Shore mountains. Now a constant witness to this magnificent scene, Varley painted views of the mountains from the deck overlooking the ocean and even from his window, such as in the canvas The Open Window, in the Hart House Collection at the University of Toronto. He also hiked up into these mountains, and in the summer of 1927 traveled up to the Garibaldi region north of Vancouver. In his mountain scenes, he was particularly interested in the interplay of the solid mountain masses and ethereal cloud and mist, such as in BC Coast, in which clouds envelop the lower flanks of the mountains, leaving the snow~capped peaks exposed. Varley accentuates the contrast by varying his brush~stroke, using long, flat strokes in the water and clouds, juxtaposed with swirls of texturized paint in the shore and mountains. Although his palette is predominately blue~grey, water is tinged with pink~beige tones, snow highlighted by flesh and pink and the foreshore streaked with orange. From the early 1920s, Varley had followed Albert Munsell’s colour system, which he taught to his students. These theories defined how to achieve colour harmony through uniting light and shade, warmth and coolness, and brilliance and grayness. Throughout BC Coast, Varley contrasts cool with warm colour and juxtaposes layers of related hues, such as the blues that vary from turquoise to cobalt in the mountains, against their complementary opposites. In addition, since the early 1920s Varley had ascribed psychological meaning to colours ~ for example, blue~green represented the highest state of spirituality. After his arrival in Vancouver, his theories of colour and their spiritual associations came to full fruition, and his colour palette became unmistakably unique. Varley’s fortunes rose and fell, as always throughout his life, and after struggling to survive, in 1937 he left BC for the East permanently. But the legacy of the British Columbia work endured ~ Varley had painted a great number of his finest landscape paintings there. In a letter to a friend, he conveyed his sense of awe, writing, “British Columbia is heaven…It trembles within me and pains me with its wonder as when a child I first awakened to the song of the earth at home. Only the hills are bigger, the torrents are bigger. The sea is here, and the sky is as vast.” His spirit had flowered in this powerful land, and his love of it sang in his work.

E STIMATE: $80,000 ~ 120,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

120

192

192 FREDERICK HORSMAN VARLEY ARCA G7 OSA 1881 ~ 1969

Ontario Landscape oil on board, signed and on verso titled on a label, circa 1937 11 3/4 x 15 in, 29.8 x 38.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Kastel Gallery Inc., Montreal Private Collection, Montreal

L ITERATURE : Maria Tippett, Stormy Weather, F.H. Varley, A Biography, 1998, page 128 Among the members of the Group of Seven, Frederick Varley was known for his free~spirited, passionate personality. Maria Tippett writes that, on a 1920 trip to Georgian Bay at Group patron Dr. James MacCallum’s

cottage, “Varley’s brush lashed out as he took psychic possession of the landscape.” One of the resulting canvases from this trip was his iconic Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay, a work that A.Y. Jackson claimed was one of the three most important paintings in Canadian art history. Varley was based in Toronto from 1920 to 1926, and during this time painted both landscapes and portraits. After moving to Vancouver in 1926, he would not return to Ontario until 1936, and permanently in 1937, the circa date of this work. He then lived in Toronto and Ottawa, painting at such locations as Doon and the Caledon Hills. Ontario Landscape is fluidly painted and full of movement. Animated trees radiate fall hues, and Varley makes a tapestry of colour in the foreground rock formation. Contrasted with the almost chaotic profusion of growth and loose brushwork are the horizontal lines of cloud in the sky, broken by bands of sea~green and blue sky. This richly painted sketch radiates Varley’s passion for life and the vigour of the land.

E STIMATE: $20,000 ~ 30,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

121

193

193 WILLIAM PERCIVAL (W.P.) WESTON ARCA BCSFA CGP RBA 1879 ~ 1967

Evening oil on canvas, signed, 1937 29 1/2 x 36 in, 74.9 x 91.4 cm P ROVENANCE : Heffel Gallery Limited, Vancouver Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Ian M. Thom, W.P. Weston, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1980, page 13 W.P. Weston is one of the most important early West Coast artists. His goal was to give those who viewed his works a sense, as he expressed it, of “its epic quality, its grandeur, its natural beauty.” After arriving from England in 1909, Weston quickly perceived he had to re~assess everything he

knew from his previous training in London to capture the raw power he saw around him. An enthusiastic outdoorsman, Weston acquired a star class boat to explore the coast during his time away from teaching art in Vancouver. In canvases such as this stunning panoramic view of Howe Sound, he communicated both the delicate atmospheres of sea mists and moody weather, and the vast power of mountains and sea. Evening features a spectacular sky with a bank of densely layered and rhythmically patterned clouds, under which stream wisps of clouds and the glow of light from the setting sun on the horizon. Weston’s strong sense of design, exclusion of extraneous detail and concentration on bold, solid form give great strength to his work. Evening, with its sense of grandeur and solitude, is an iconic image by this virtuoso painter.

E STIMATE: $50,000 ~ 70,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

122

194 EMILY CARR BCSFA RCA 1871 ~ 1945

Klee Wyck Beaver Bowl ceramic sculpture, signed Klee Wyck, circa 1924 ~ 1926 1 3/4 x 7 1/4 x 5 1/2 in, 4.4 x 18.4 x 14 cm P ROVENANCE : A gift from the Artist to Sydney Rodd, Victoria By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver Island Emily Carr’s strong interest in native imagery also manifested itself in the production of pottery. While in England, Carr had taken a course in clay modeling at the Westminster School of Art in 1900. But it was not until 1924, in order to supplement her income, that Carr began to produce crafts such as ceramics. Desiring to be true to native iconography, she consulted books such as John Swanton’s Ethnography of the Haida and A.P. Niblack’s Coast Indians and made drawings from them. She studied artifacts in museums such as the National Museum of Canada in Ottawa, as well as obtaining drawings of crest symbols from Haida artists. Carr signed her ceramic works Klee Wyck, meaning “Laughing One”, the name given to her by West Coast First Nations people. Carr hand~built an inventive variety of clay objects, and was involved in all the stages of object~making. She dug clay from the Dallas Road cliffs and single~fired her objects in a home~made kiln in her back yard, finally painting them with native motifs such as this vibrant Beaver design. Carr’s ceramic objects, primitive and vigorous, are imbued with her enthusiasm for native motifs and the process of art~making itself. 194

E STIMATE: $7,000 ~ 9,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

123

195 EMILY CARR BCSFA RCA 1871 ~ 1945

Klee Wyck Whale Bowl ceramic sculpture, signed Klee Wyck, circa 1924 ~ 1926 2 5/8 x 8 1/4 x 8 1/8 in, 6.7 x 21 x 20.6 cm P ROVENANCE : A gift from the Artist to Sydney Rodd, Victoria By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver Island Two Klee Wyck ceramic works, Whale Bowl and Beaver Bowl, lot 194 in this sale, were given as gifts to Sydney Rodd by Emily Carr, who rented a cottage at 355 Gorge Road West in Victoria, owned by Sydney’s father R.G.L. Rodd. The Rodds owned The Gorge Boathouse, which built boats and rented out canoes. Sydney, the youngest son, and his brother Twinkie, whose Klee Wyck works were sold in Heffel’s sale of Fine Canadian Art on May 26, 2010, helped Carr with yard work. Sydney had an angora rabbit, and Carr, who loved all animals and shared her cottage with her menagerie of pets, gave him Whale Bowl as a special dinner bowl for this rabbit. The incised design of whales can clearly be seen. Sydney’s mother was an artist, and she and Carr likely shared their mutual interests during the year or so that Carr lived at this cottage. 195

E STIMATE: $8,000 ~ 10,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

124

196

196 EMILY CARR BCSFA RCA 1871 ~ 1945

Forest Interior oil on paper on board, signed with the estate stamp 23 7/8 x 35 7/8 in, 60.6 x 91.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Estate of Emily Carr Dominion Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Vancouver

L ITERATURE : Emily Carr, Hundreds and Thousands, The Journals of Emily Carr, 2006, page 264 Emily Carr’s use of the medium of oil paint thinned with gasoline or turpentine applied to paper gave her greater freedom not only to express herself technically, in that she was able to attain a more fluid

brush~stroke, but also to portray what she was feeling in the woods. Forest Interior is a landscape whose very matter has been vaporized by a wind of energy tearing through it. Only the trees are able to withstand it, standing stalwartly with upthrust branches as the living sea of growth below them swirls past towards the rays of light in the background. Carr defines the ground by light strokes, only barely indicating matter. The brush~strokes in the upper part of the work give the sensation of the arched hall of a cathedral. Her perception of the energy running through nature touches on the true reality just under the surface of seeing, where everything is made up of a dance of molecules, which manifests in different densities and elements. As she wrote in her journal Hundreds and Thousands, “Life is sweeping through the spaces. Everything is alive.” Carr’s profound understanding of the power and mystery of the West Coast landscape has made her one of Canada’s most treasured artists. Included with this lot is a certificate of authenticity from the Dominion Gallery.

E STIMATE: $100,000 ~ 150,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

125

197

197 FRANK HANS (FRANZ) JOHNSTON ARCA CSPWC G7 OSA 1888 ~ 1949

Golden Afternoon oil on canvas, signed and dated 1933 and on verso signed and titled 25 x 30 1/8 in, 63.5 x 76.5 cm P ROVENANCE : The Fine Art Galleries, T. Eaton Co. Ltd., Toronto Private Collection, Ontario

L ITERATURE : Roger Burford Mason, A Grand Eye For Glory: A Life of Franz Johnston, 1998, page 12 Frank Johnston first gained public attention and financial success at the Group of Seven’s 1920 inaugural exhibition. He was a member of the

Group until 1924, when his strong individuality prompted his separation. Roger Mason suggests this was because Johnston “professed his desire to paint the Canadian landscape the way he saw it, and not through the filter of any particular ideology.” This dedication to his personal experience of the landscape is evident in Golden Afternoon, a realistic and meticulously rendered scene that instills a sense of calm in the viewer. The title draws our attention to the quality of light that infuses the work and its essence of an exquisite, idyllic summer afternoon. In 1930, the artist and his family moved to Balm Beach, a small farming and resort village overlooking Georgian Bay. Johnston bought 50 acres of land set back from the village and established an art school he called Tondakea Lodge. He taught in the summer, but painted steadily the rest of the year, with easy access to the surrounding Ontario landscape that so deeply inspired him.

E STIMATE: $15,000 ~ 20,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

126

198

198 RANDOLPH STANLEY HEWTON BHG CGP RCA 1888 ~ 1960

Winter Street Scene oil on canvas, on verso stamped twice with the R.S. Hewton studio stamp and with the Hewton Estate stamp 12 x 14 in, 30.5 x 35.6 cm P ROVENANCE : Estate of Randolph Hewton Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal Private Collection, Vancouver Randolph Hewton, like many other prominent Canadian artists in the early 1900s, spent time studying in Paris, absorbing the innovations of the exciting new movements in European art. Back in Canada, he arose in the thick of important emerging groups ~ he was one of the founders of

the Beaver Hall Group in Montreal, having located the studio space with Mabel May, Edwin Holgate and Lilias Newton. Also associated with the Group of Seven, Hewton was invited to participate in their first formal exhibition in 1920. A friend of A.Y. Jackson, he forayed with him on painting excursions in Quebec to Emileville, Sainte~Irénée, St~Tite~des~Caps, St~Urbain and Saint~Pierre~de~Montmagny. He was also known to have painted at Baie~Saint~Paul, a winter mecca for artists. This bright painting exhibits Hewton’s sure perception of atmosphere ~ his palette, primarily based on white infused with pastel tints, exudes light. Accents of bright colours enliven the work and define form, while thick, luscious paint strokes add texture. Winter Street Scene is a consummate Quebec winter village scene, animated by men at work, and including the archetypal horse and sleigh.

E STIMATE: $18,000 ~ 22,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

127

199

199 RANDOLPH STANLEY HEWTON BHG CGP RCA

1888 ~ 1960

Quebec Village oil on canvas, signed and on verso titled, dated circa 1935 on the Roberts Gallery label and stamped with the Hewton Estate stamp 15 5/8 x 17 3/4 in, 39.7 x 45.1 cm P ROVENANCE : Estate of Randolph Hewton Private Collection, Vancouver Roberts Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto An influential artist in the Montreal art scene, Randolph Hewton belonged to the Arts Club of Montreal, was one of the founders of the

Beaver Hall Group, and from 1921 to 1924 was principal of the Art Association of Montreal. A contemporary of the Group of Seven, he shared their enthusiasm for painting Canadian scenery with freshness and vigour, and he often painted with A.Y. Jackson in Quebec villages. At a time when controversy raged between academicians and painters who broke with tradition such as the Group, Hewton was appointed by the National Gallery of Canada to the jury that chose works for 1924’s British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. The modern Canadian artists chosen for this international exhibition received enthusiastic reviews, making it a milestone in Canadian art history. Hewton’s fresh approach to landscape is evident in this verdant summer scene glowing with light and sumptuous colour. Tucked against the bank of the river and rising over the crest of the hill, the village dreams in the afternoon sun, its peaceful heart caught in a timeless moment.

E STIMATE: $18,000 ~ 24,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

128

200 ARTHUR LISMER AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA

1885 ~ 1969

Forest Giant, Vancouver Island oil on canvas board, signed and on verso titled, circa 1951 16 x 12 in, 40.6 x 30.5 cm P ROVENANCE : Estate of the Artist Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal Private Collection, Ontario Private Collection, Toronto Literature: Dennis Reid, Canadian Jungle: The Later Work of Arthur Lismer, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1985, reproduced page 85

E XHIBITED : Art Gallery of Ontario, Canadian Jungle: The Later Work of Arthur Lismer, September 27 ~ November 24, 1985, traveling in 1986 to Dalhousie University Art Gallery, Halifax, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Edmonton Art Gallery, catalogue #55

200

In 1951, Arthur Lismer made his first sketching trip to Vancouver Island, exploring Long Beach as well as Galiano and Pender Islands. The wild West Coast made such an impression that he returned there for 16 subsequent summers, painting both shore and forest. When he immersed himself in the deep woods, he most often painted close~ups of trees and the forest floor, as with this vigorous portrait of an old growth tree. Characteristic of his work there are the use of bold brush~strokes and incised lines, which increase the sensation of riotous growth. Having met Emily Carr when she traveled to Toronto in 1927, Lismer also saw her in a 1940 lecture trip to Victoria. While his West Coast work was not obviously influenced by her, they shared a commonality in their expression of the immense life force present there.

E STIMATE: $12,000 ~ 16,000


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

129

201

201 ROBERT WAKEHAM PILOT CGP OSA PRCA 1898 ~ 1967

Montmorencey Falls

202

202 KATHLEEN MOIR MORRIS AAM ARCA BHG

1893 ~ 1986

The White Barn

oil on board, signed and on verso signed, titled and dated 1936 13 x 17 in, 33 x 43.2 cm

oil on board, signed 11 x 14 in, 27.9 x 35.6 cm

P ROVENANCE :

Private Collection, Quebec

Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal Private Collection, Vancouver

E STIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,000

P ROVENANCE :

E STIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,000

Thank you for attending our sale of Fine Canadian Art. After tonight’s sale, please view our Third Session ~ November Online Auction of Fine Canadian Art at www.heffel.com, closing on Saturday, November 27, 2010. Lots can be independently viewed at one of our galleries in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal, as specified in our online catalogue.


INVITATION TO CONSIGN Upcoming Specialty Sales

NOVEMBER 2010 ONLINE AUCTION Fine Canadian Art Late 19th and Early 20th Century Works on Paper Important Estate and Corporate Collections JANUARY 2011 ONLINE AUCTION The Prints and Watercolours of W.J. Phillips and His Contemporaries Fine Canadian Art FEBRUARY 2011 ONLINE AUCTION Fine Canadian Art Important Estate and Corporate Collections MARCH 2011 ONLINE AUCTION Canadian Post~War & Contemporary Art Important Works by David Blackwood Important Estate and Corporate Collections APRIL 2011 ONLINE AUCTION Fine International Art Fine Photography

DAVID LLOYD BLACKWOOD 1941 ~ CANADIAN

Loss of the Flora S. Nickerson E STIMATE : $4,000 ~ 6,000 Sold for: $19,550

We are currently accepting consignments for our upcoming sales Heffel’s has the most experienced team of fine art specialists in the business, providing clients with the best opportunity for maximizing the value of their Canadian and International works

www.heffel.com


Have you subscribed to Heffel’s Canadian Art at Auction Index?

With over 70,000 Lots of Canadian Fine Art Auction Sales from the past 42 years compiled from 60 auction houses and 5,100 artists, Heffel’s Canadian Art at Auction Index is an invaluable resource for the collector, dealer, appraiser or museum professional.

Sign up today online at www.heffel.com or complete our Subscription Form on page 140


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE Auctioneers & Appraisers VANCOUVER • TORONTO • OTTAWA • MONTREAL MONTREAL OFFICE 1840 rue Sherbrooke Ouest Montreal, Quebec H3H 1E4 Telephone 514 939~6505

T ORONTO OFFICE 13 Hazelton Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5R 2E1 Telephone 416 961~6505

O TTAWA OFFICE By appointment 104 Daly Avenue Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6E7 Telephone 613 230~6505

Robert and David Heffel with their mother Marjorie, May 2007

Canada’s national fine art auction house, Heffel regularly conducts live ballroom auctions of Fine Canadian Art and Canadian Post~War & Contemporary Art in Vancouver during the Spring and Toronto in the Fall, preceded by previews of our sales in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. We also conduct monthly Internet auctions of Fine Canadian and International Art. We have offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, and a representative in Calgary. Our Canadian art experts regularly travel across the country providing free confidential and professional auction appraisals. Call 1 800 528~9608 today to arrange for the assessment of your fine art for auction or other purposes, such as probate, family division or insurance. Our experts can be contacted at any of our locations listed above and you

VANCOUVER OFFICE 2247 Granville Street Vancouver, BC V6H 3G1 Telephone 604 732~6505

R EPRESENTATIVE IN CALGARY Lisa Christensen Telephone 403 238~6505

may visit our website at www.heffel.com for further information regarding buying and selling with Heffel. When you consign with Heffel your important paintings are marketed globally.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

133

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS These Terms and Conditions of Business represent the terms upon which the Auction House contracts with the Consignor and, acting in its capacity as agent on behalf of the Consignor, contracts with the Purchaser. These Terms and Conditions of Business shall apply to the sale of the Lot by the Auction House to the Purchaser on behalf of the

A DEFINED TERMS: 1 P ROPERTY Any Property delivered by the Consignor to the Auction House to be placed in the auction sale held by the Auction House on its premises, online or elsewhere and, specifically, that Property described by Lot number in the Auction House catalogue for the auction sale. The Auction House will have the authority to partition the Property into Lots (the “Lots”);

2 R ESERVE The reserve is a minimum price for the sale of the Lot, agreed to between the Consignor and the Auction House;

3 KNOCKED DOWN The conclusion of the sale of the Lot being auctioned by the Auctioneer;

4 EXPENSES Expenses shall include all costs incurred, directly or indirectly, in relation to the consignment and sale of the Lot;

5 HAMMER P RICE The price at which the Auctioneer Knocked Down the Lot to the Purchaser;

6 PURCHASER The person, corporation or other entity or such entity’s agent, who bids successfully on the Lot at the auction sale;

7 P URCHASE PRICE The Purchase Price means the Hammer Price and the Buyer’s Premium, applicable Sales Tax and additional charges and Expenses including expenses due from a defaulting Purchaser;

8 BUYER ’S PREMIUM The Auction House rate of the Buyer’s Premium is seventeen percent (17%) of the Hammer Price of each Lot;

9 SALES TAX Sales Tax means the Federal and Provincial sales and excise taxes applicable in the jurisdiction of sale of the Lot;

10 P ROCEEDS

OF

SALE

The net amount due to the Consignor from the Auction House, which shall be the Hammer Price less commission at the Published Rates and Expenses and any other amounts due to the Auction House or associated companies;

11 L IVE

AND

ONLINE AUCTIONS

These Terms and Conditions of Business apply to all live and online auction sales conducted by the Auction House. For the purposes of online auctions, all references to the Auctioneer shall mean the Auction House and Knocked Down is a literal reference defining the close of the auction sale.

Consignor, and shall supersede and take precedence over any previously agreed Terms and Conditions of Business. These Terms and Conditions of Business are hereby incorporated into and form part of the Consignment Agreement entered into by the Auction House and the Consignor.

B THE PURCHASER: 1 T HE AUCTION HOUSE The Auction House acts solely as agent for the Consignor, except as otherwise provided herein. 2 T HE PURCHASER (a) The highest bidder acknowledged by the Auctioneer as the

highest bidder at the time the Lot is Knocked Down; (b) The Auctioneer has the right, at his sole discretion, to reopen a Lot if he has inadvertently missed a Bid, or if a Bidder immediately at the close of a Lot notifies the Auctioneer of his intent to Bid; (c) The Auctioneer shall have the right to regulate and control

the bidding and to advance the bids in whatever intervals he considers appropriate for the Lot in question; (d) The Auction House shall have absolute discretion in settling

any dispute in determining the successful bidder; (e) Every bidder shall be deemed to act as principal unless the

Auction House has acknowledged in writing prior to the date of the auction, that the bidder is acting as agent on behalf of a disclosed principal and where such agency relationship is acceptable to the Auction House; (f) The Purchaser acknowledges that invoices generated during the sale or shortly after may not be error~free, and therefore are subject to review; and, (g) Every bidder shall submit a fully completed Registration

Form and provide the required information to the Auction House. Every bidder will be assigned a unique paddle number. For online auctions, a password will be created for use in the current and future online sales only. This online registration procedure may require up to twenty~four (24) hours to complete. 3 P URCHASER’ S PRICE The Purchaser shall pay the Purchase Price to the Auction House. 4 SALES TAX EXEMPTION All or part of the Sales Tax may be exempt in certain circumstances if the Lot is delivered or otherwise removed from the jurisdiction of sale of the Lot. It is the Purchaser’s obligation to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Auction House, that such delivery or removal results in an exemption from the relevant Sales Tax legislation. Shipments out of the jurisdiction of sale of the Lot(s) shall only be eligible for exemption from Sales Tax if shipped directly from the


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE Auction House and appropriate delivery documentation is provided, in advance, to the Auction House. All claims for Sales Tax exemption must be made prior to or at the time of payment of the Purchase Price. Sales Tax will not be refunded once the Auction House has released the Lot. 5 P AYMENT OF THE PURCHASE PRICE (a) The Purchaser shall: (i) Unless he has already done so, provide the Auction House with his name, address and banking or other suitable references as may be required by the Auction House; and, (ii) Payment must be made within seven (7) days from the date of the auction by: a) Bank Wire direct to our account, b) Certified Cheque or Bank Draft, unless otherwise arranged in advance with the Auction House, or c) a cheque accompanied by a current Letter of Credit from the Purchaser’s bank which will guarantee the amount of the cheque (release of Lot subject to clearance of cheque). Credit card payments subject to a maximum of $5,000, if you are providing your credit card details by fax (for purchases in North America only) or to a maximum of $25,000 if the card is presented in person with valid identification. In all other circumstances, we accept payment by wire transfer. (b) Title shall pass, and release and/or delivery of the Lot shall

occur, only upon payment of the Purchase Price by the Purchaser to the Auction House. 6 DESCRIPTIONS

OF

LOT

(a) All representations or statements made by the Auction House,

or in the Consignment Agreement, or in the catalogue or other publication or report, as to the authorship, origin, date, age, size, medium, attribution, genuineness, provenance, condition or estimated selling price of the Lot, are statements of opinion only; (b) All photographic representations and other illustrations

presented in the catalogue are solely for guidance and are not to be relied upon in terms of tone or colour or necessarily to reveal any imperfections in the Lot; (c) Many Lots are of an age or nature which precludes their being

in pristine condition. Some descriptions in the catalogue or given by way of condition report make reference to damage and/or restoration. Such information is given for guidance only and the absence of such a reference does not imply that a Lot is free from defects, nor does any reference to particular defects imply the absence of others; and, (d) The prospective Purchaser must satisfy himself as to all

matters referred to in (a), (b) and (c) of this paragraph by inspection, other investigation or otherwise prior to the sale of the Lot. If the prospective Purchaser is unable to personally view any Lot, the Auction House may, upon request, e~mail or fax a condition report describing the Lot to the prospective Purchaser.

134

7 P URCHASED LOT (a) The Purchaser shall collect the Lot from the Auction House

within seven (7) days from the date of the auction sale, after which date the Purchaser shall be responsible for all Expenses until the date the Lot is removed from the offices of the Auction House; (b) All packing, handling and shipping of any Lot by the Auction

House is undertaken solely as a courtesy service to the Purchaser, and will only be undertaken at the discretion of the Auction House and at the Purchaser’s risk. Prior to all packing and shipping, the Auction House must receive a fully completed and signed Shipping Form and payment in full for all purchases; and, (c) The Auction House shall not be liable for any damage to glass

or frames of the Lot and shall not be liable for any errors or omissions or damage caused by packers and shippers, whether or not such agent was recommended by the Auction House. 8 R ISK (a) The purchased Lot shall be at the Consignor’s risk in all

respects for seven (7) days after the auction sale, after which the Lot will be at the Purchaser’s risk. The Purchaser may arrange insurance coverage through the Auction House at the then prevailing rates and subject to the then existing policy; and, (b) Neither the Auction House nor its employees nor its agents

shall be liable for any loss or damage of any kind to the Lot, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, while any Lot is in or under the custody or control of the Auction House. 9 N ON~PAYMENT AND FAILURE TO COLLECT LOT( S) If the Purchaser fails either to pay for or to take away any Lot within seven (7) days from the date of the auction sale, the Auction House may in its absolute discretion be entitled to one or more of the following remedies without providing further notice to the Purchaser and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies the Auction House may have: (a) To issue judicial proceedings against the Purchaser for

damages for breach of contract together with the costs of such proceedings on a full indemnity basis; (b) To rescind the sale of that or any other Lots sold to the

Purchaser; (c) To resell the Lot or cause it to be resold by public or private

sale, or by way of live or online auction, with any deficiency to be claimed from the Purchaser and any surplus, after Expenses, to be delivered to the Purchaser; (d) To store the Lot on the premises of the Auction House or

elsewhere, and to release the Lot to the Purchaser only after payment of the full Purchase Price and associated cost to the Auction House; (e) To charge interest on the Purchase Price at the rate of five

percent (5%) above the Royal Bank of Canada base rate at the time of the auction sale and adjusted month to month thereafter;


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE (f) To retain that or any other Lot sold to the Purchaser at the

same or any other auction and release the same only after payment of the aggregate outstanding Purchase Price; (g) To apply any Proceeds of Sale of any Lot then due or at any

time thereafter becoming due to the Purchaser towards settlement of the Purchase Price, and the Auction House shall be entitled to a lien on any other property of the Purchaser which is in the Auction House possession for any purpose; and, (h) To apply any payments by the Purchaser to the Auction

House towards any sums owing from the Purchaser to the Auction House or to any associated company of the Auction House without regard to any directions of the Purchaser or his agent, whether express or implied. 10 GUARANTEE The Auction House, its employees and agents, shall not be responsible for the correctness of any statement as to the authorship, origin, date, age, size, medium, attribution, genuineness or provenance of any Lot or for any other errors of description or for any faults or defects in any Lot and no warranty whatsoever is given by the Auction House, its employees or agents in respect of any Lot and any express or implied conditions or warranties are hereby excluded. 11 ATTENDANCE BY PURCHASER (a) Prospective Purchasers are advised to inspect the Lot(s) before the sale, and to satisfy themselves as to the description, attribution and condition of each Lot. The Auction House will arrange suitable viewing conditions during the preview preceding the sale, or by private appointment; (b) Prospective Purchasers are advised to personally attend the

sale. However, if they are unable to attend, the Auction House will execute bids on their behalf subject to completion of the proper Absentee Bid Form, duly signed and delivered to the Auction House forty~eight (48) hours before the start of the auction sale. The Auction House shall not be responsible nor liable in the making of any such bid by its employees or agents; (c) In the event that the Auction House has received more than

one Absentee Bid Form on a Lot for an identical amount and at auction those absentee bids are the highest bids for that Lot, the Lot shall be Knocked Down to the person whose Absentee Bid Form was received first; and, (d) At the discretion of the Auction House, the Auction House

may execute bids, if appropriately instructed by telephone, on behalf of the prospective purchaser, and the prospective purchaser hereby agrees that neither the Auction House nor its employees nor agents shall be liable to either the Purchaser or the Consignor for any neglect or default in making such a bid. 12 EXPORT PERMITS Without limitation, the Purchaser acknowledges that certain

135

property of Canadian cultural importance sold by the Auction House may be subject to the provisions of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act (Canada), and that compliance with the provisions of the said act is the sole responsibility of the Purchaser.

C THE CONSIGNOR: 1 T HE AUCTION HOUSE (a) The Auction House shall have absolute discretion as to

whether the Lot is suitable for sale, the particular auction sale for the Lot, the date of the auction sale, the manner in which the auction sale is conducted, the catalogue descriptions of the Lot, and any other matters related to the sale of the Lot at the auction sale; (b) The Auction House reserves the right to withdraw any Lot at

any time prior to the auction sale if, in the sole discretion of the Auction House: (i) there is doubt as to its authenticity; (ii) there is doubt as to the accuracy of any of the Consignor’s

representations or warranties; (iii) the Consignor has breached or is about to breach any

provisions of the Consignment Agreement; or (iv) any other just cause exists. (c) In the event of a withdrawal pursuant to Condition C.1.b.(ii)

or C.1.b.(iii), the Consignor shall pay a charge to the Auction House, as provided in Condition C.8. 2 W ARRANTIES

AND I NDEMNITIES

(a) The Consignor warrants to the Auction House and to the

Purchaser that the Consignor has and shall be able to deliver unencumbered title to the Lot, free and clear of all claims; (b) The Consignor shall indemnify the Auction House, its

employees and agents and the Purchaser against all claims made or proceedings brought by persons entitled or purporting to be entitled to the Lot; (c) The Consignor shall indemnify the Auction House, its

employees and agents and the Purchaser against all claims made or proceedings brought due to any default of the Consignor in complying with any applicable legislation, regulations and these terms and Conditions of Business; and, (d) The Consignor shall reimburse the Auction House in full and

on demand for all Expenses or any other loss or damage whatsoever made, incurred or suffered as a result of any breach by the Consignor of C.2.a and/or C.2.c above. 3 R ESERVES The Auction House is authorized by the Consignor to Knock Down a Lot at less than the Reserve, provided that, for the purposes of calculating the Proceeds of Sale due to the Consignor, the Hammer Price shall be deemed to be the full amount of the agreed Reserve established by the Auction House and the Consignor.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 4 C OMMISSION

AND

EXPENSES

(a) The Consignor authorizes the Auction House to deduct the

Consignor’s Commission and Expenses from the Hammer Price and, notwithstanding that the Auction House is the Consignor’s agent, acknowledges that the Auction House shall retain the Buyer’s Premium; (b) The Consignor shall pay and authorizes the Auction House to

deduct all Expenses incurred on behalf of the Consignor, together with any Sales Tax thereon; and, (c) The charge for illustrating a Lot in the live auction sale catalogue shall be a flat fee paid by the Consignor of $500 for a large size reproduction and $275 for a small reproduction, per item in each Lot, together with any Sales Tax chargeable thereon. The Auction House retains all rights to photographic and printing material and the right of reproduction of such photographs. The charge for online digital photography, cataloguing and internet posting is a flat fee of $100 per Lot. 5 INSURANCE (a) Lots are only covered by insurance under the Fine Arts

Insurance Policy of the Auction House if the consignor so authorizes; (b) The rate of insurance premium payable by the Consignor is

$15 per $1,000 (01.5%) of the greater value of the high estimate value of the Lot or the realized Hammer Price or for the alternative amount as specified in the Consignment Receipt; (c) If the Consignor instructs the Auction House not to insure a

Lot, it shall at all times remain at the risk of the Consignor who hereby undertakes to: (i) indemnify the Auction House against all claims made or

proceedings brought against the Auction House in respect of loss or damage to the Lot of whatever nature, howsoever and wheresoever occurred, and in any circumstances even where negligence is alleged or proven; (ii) reimburse the Auction House for all Expenses incurred by

the Auction House. Any payment which the Auction House shall make in respect of such loss or damage or Expenses shall be binding upon the Consignor and shall be accepted by the Consignor as conclusive evidence that the Auction House was liable to make such payment; and, (iii) notify any insurer of the existence of the indemnity

contained in these Terms and Conditions of Business; (d) The Auction House does not accept responsibility for Lots

damaged by changes in atmospheric conditions and the Auction House shall not be liable for such damage nor for any other damage to picture frames or to glass in picture frames; and, (e) The value for which a Lot is insured under the Fine Arts

Policy of the Auction House in accordance with sub~clause C.4.b above shall be the total amount due to the Consignor in the event of a successful claim being made against the Auction House.

136

6 P AYMENT

OF

PROCEEDS

OF

SALE

(a) The Auction House shall pay the Proceeds of Sale to the

Consignor thirty~five (35) days after the date of sale, if the Auction House has been paid the Purchase Price in full by the Purchaser; (b) If the Auction House has not received the Purchase Price from

the Purchaser within the time period specified, then the Auction House will pay the Proceeds of Sale within seven (7) working days following receipt of the Purchase Price from the Purchaser; and, (c) If before the Purchase Price is paid in full by the Purchaser,

the Auction House pays the Consignor an amount equal to the Proceeds of Sale, title to the property in the Lot shall pass to the Auction House. 7 C OLLECTION OF THE P URCHASE PRICE If the Purchaser fails to pay to the Auction House the Purchase Price within thirty (30) days after the date of sale, the Auction House will endeavour to take the Consignor’s instructions as to the appropriate course of action to be taken and, so far as in the Auction House’s opinion such instructions are practicable, will assist the Consignor in recovering the Purchase Price from the Purchaser, save that the Auction House shall not be obligated to issue judicial proceedings against the Purchaser in its own name. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Auction House reserves the right and is hereby authorized at the Consignor’s expense, and in each case at the absolute discretion of the Auction House, to agree to special terms for payment of the Purchase Price, to remove, store and insure the Lot sold, to settle claims made by or against the Purchaser on such terms as the Auction House shall think fit, to take such steps as are necessary to collect monies from the Purchaser to the Consignor and, if appropriate, to set aside the sale and refund money to the Purchaser. 8 C HARGES FOR WITHDRAWN LOTS The Consignor may not withdraw a Lot prior to the auction sale without the consent of the Auction House. In the event that such consent is given, or in the event of a withdrawal pursuant to Condition C.1.b.(ii) or (iii), a charge of, whichever is greater, twenty~five percent (25%) of the high pre~sale estimate or the insured value, together with any applicable Sales Tax and Expenses, is immediately payable to the Auction House, prior to any release of property. 9 UNSOLD LOTS (a) Unsold Lots must be collected at the Consignor’s expense

within the period of ninety (90) days after receipt by the Consignor of notice from the Auction House. Upon the expiration of such a period, the Auction House shall have the right to sell such Lots by public or private sale and on such terms as it thinks fit and to deduct from the Proceeds of Sale any sum owing to the Auction House or to any associated company of the Auction House including Expenses, before


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE remitting the balance to the Consignor. If the Consignor cannot be traced, the Auction House shall place the funds in a bank account in the name of the Auction House for the Consignor. In this condition the expression “Proceeds of Sale” shall have the same meaning in relation to a private sale as it has in relation to a sale by auction;

137

illustrations, photographs or other reproductions of any work provided to the Auction House by the Consignor. The Consignor agrees to fully indemnify the Auction House and hold it harmless from any damages caused to the Auction House by reason of any breach by the Consignor of this warranty and representation.

(b) Lots returned at the Consignor’s request shall be returned at

the Consignor’s risk and expense and will not be insured in transit unless the Auction House is otherwise instructed by the Consignor; and, (c) If any Lot is unsold by auction, the Auction House is

authorized as the exclusive agent for the Consignor for a period of 90 days following the auction to sell such Lot privately for a price that will result in a payment to the Consignor of not less than the net amount (i.e., after deduction of the Auction House Commission and Expenses) to which the Consignor would have been entitled had the Lot been sold at a price equal to the agreed Reserve, or for such lesser amount as the Auction House and the Consignor shall agree. In such event the Consignor’s obligations to the Auction House hereunder with respect to such a Lot are the same as if it had been sold at auction. 10 C ONSIGNOR’ S SALES TAX STATUS The Consignor shall give to the Auction House all relevant information as to his Sales Tax status with regard to the Lot to be sold, which he warrants is and will be correct and upon which the Auction House shall be entitled to rely. 11 P HOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS In consideration of the Auction House’s services to the Consignor, the Consignor hereby warrants and represents to the Auction House that it has the right to grant to the Auction House, and the Consignor does hereby grant to the Auction House, a non~exclusive, perpetual, fully paid~up, royalty free and non~revocable right and permission to: (a) reproduce (by illustration, photograph, electronic reproduction, or any other form or medium whether presently known or hereinafter devised) any work within any Lot given to the Auction House for sale by the Consignor; and (b) use and publish such illustration, photograph or other reproduction in connection with the public exhibition, promotion and sale of the Lot in question and otherwise in connection with the operation of the Auction House’s business, including without limitation by including the illustration, photograph or other reproduction in promotional catalogues, compilations, the Auction House’s Art Index, and other publications and materials distributed to the public, and by communicating the illustration, photograph or other reproduction to the public by telecommunication via an Internet website operated by or affiliated with the Auction House (“Permission”). Moreover, the Consignor makes the same warranty and representation and grants the same Permission to the Auction House in respect of any

D GENERAL CONDITIONS: 1 The Auction House as agent for the Consignor is not responsible for any default by the Consignor or the Purchaser. 2 The Auction House shall have the right at its absolute discretion to refuse admission to its premises or attendance at its auctions by any person. 3 The Auction House has the right at its absolute discretion to refuse any bid, to advance the bidding as it may decide, to withdraw or divide any Lot, to combine any two or more Lots and, in the case of dispute, to put up any Lot for auction again. At no time shall a bidder retract or withdraw his or her bid. 4 Any indemnity hereunder shall extend to all actions, proceedings, costs, claims and demands whatsoever incurred or suffered by the person for whose benefit the indemnity is given; and the Auction House shall hold any indemnity on trust for its employees and agents where it is expressed to be for their benefit. 5 Any notice given hereunder shall be in writing and if given by post shall be deemed to have been duly received by the addressee within three (3) business days. 6 The copyright for all illustrations and written matter relating to the Lots shall be and will remain at all times the absolute property of the Auction House and shall not, without the prior written consent of the Auction House, be used by any other person. 7 This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with British Columbia law and the laws of Canada applicable therein and all parties concerned hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the British Columbia Courts. 8 Unless otherwise provided for herein, all monetary amounts referred to herein shall refer to the lawful money of Canada. 9 All words importing the singular number shall include the plural and vice versa, and words importing the use of any gender shall include the masculine, feminine and neuter genders and the word “person” shall include an individual, a trust, a partnership, a body corporate, an association or other incorporated or unincorporated organization or entity. The Purchaser and the Consignor are hereby advised to read fully the Agreement which sets out and establishes the rights and obligations of the Auction House, the Purchaser and the Consignor and the terms by which the Auction House shall conduct the sale and handle other related matters. Version 2010.10, © Heffel Gallery Inc.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

138

CATALOGUE ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS:

AAM AANFM AAP

Art Association of Montreal founded in 1860

OSA

Ontario Society of Artists founded 1872

Association des artistes non~figuratifs de Montréal

P11

Painters Eleven 1953 ~ 1960

Association des arts plastiques

PDCC

ACM

Arts Club of Montreal

PNIAI

Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation

AGA

Art Guild America

POSA

President Ontario Society of Artists

Association des graveurs du Québec Art, Historical and Scientific Association of Vancouver

PPCM PRCA

Pen and Pencil Club, Montreal President Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

AGQ AHSA ALC

Print and Drawing Council of Canada

Arts and Letters Club

PSA

Pastel Society of America

AOCA

Associate Ontario College of Art

PSC

Pastel Society of Canada

ARCA

Associate Member Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

ASA ASPWC ASQ

Alberta Society of Artists American Society of Painters in Water Colors Association des sculpteurs du Québec

PY

Prisme d’yeux

QM

Quebec Modern Group

R5 RA

Regina Five 1961 ~ 1964 Royal Academy

AUTO

Les Automatistes

RAAV

Regroupement des artistes en arts visuels du Québec

AWCS

American Watercolor Society

RAIC

Royal Architects Institute of Canada

BCSFA

British Columbia Society of Fine Arts founded in 1909

RBA

Royal Society of British Artists

British Columbia Society of Artists

RCA

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts founded 1880

BHG CAC

Beaver Hall Group, Montreal 1920 ~1922 Canadian Art Club

RI RMS

Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour Royal Miniature Society

CAS

Contemporary Arts Society

ROI

Royal Institute of Oil Painters

Companion of the Order of Canada

RPS

Royal Photographic Society

Canadian Group of Painters 1933 ~ 1969

RSA

Royal Scottish Academy

Companion of Honour Commonwealth

RSC

BCSA

CC CGP CH CPE CSAA

Canadian Painters ~ Etchers’ Society Canadian Society of Applied Art

RSMA RSPP

CSGA

Canadian Society of Graphic Artists founded in 1905

RWS

CSMA

Canadian Society of Marine Artists

SAA

CSPWC

Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour founded in 1925

EGP

Eastern Group of Painters

FBA FCA

Federation of British Artists Federation of Canadian Artists

FRSA

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

G7

Group of Seven 1920 ~ 1933

IAF

Institut des arts figuratifs

IWCA

SAAVQ SAP SAPQ SC SCA SCPEE SSC

Royal Society of Canada Royal Society of Marine Artists Royal Society of Portrait Painters Royal Watercolour Society Society of American Artists Société des artistes en arts visuels du Québec Société des arts plastiques Société des artistes professionnels du Québec The Studio Club Society of Canadian Artists 1867 ~ 1872 Society of Canadian Painters, Etchers and Engravers Sculptors’ Society of Canada

Institute of Western Canadian Artists

SWAA

Saskatchewan Women Artists’ Association

LP MSA

Les Plasticiens Montreal Society of Arts

TCC WAAC

Toronto Camera Club Women’s Art Association of Canada

NAD

National Academy of Design

WIAC

NEAC

New English Art Club

NSSA

Nova Scotia Society of Artists

OC

Order of Canada

OIP OM

Ontario Institute of Painters Order of Merit British

Women’s International Art Club

WS

Woodlands School

YR

Young Romantics

ϕ

Indicates that Heffel Gallery owns an equity interest in the Lot Denotes that additional information on this lot can be found on our website at www.heffel.com


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

139

CATALOGUE TERMS:

HEFFEL’S CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT, ETHICS AND PRACTICES:

These catalogue terms are provided for your guidance:

Heffel takes great pride in being the leader in the Canadian fine art auction industry, and has an unparalleled track record. We are proud to have been the dominant auction house in the Canadian art market from 2004 to the present. Our firm’s growth and success has been built on hard work and innovation, our commitment to our Clients and our deep respect for the fine art we offer. At Heffel we treat our consignments with great care and respect, and consider it an honour to have them pass through our hands. We are fully cognizant of the historical value of the works we handle, and their place in art history.

C ORNELIUS DAVID KRIEGHOFF In our best judgment, a work by the artist. ATTRIBUTED TO CORNELIUS DAVID KRIEGHOFF In our best judgment, a work executed in whole or in part by the named artist. STUDIO OF CORNELIUS DAVID K RIEGHOFF In our best judgment, a work by an unknown hand in the studio of the artist, possibly executed under the supervision of the named artist. C IRCLE OF CORNELIUS DAVID KRIEGHOFF In our best judgment, a work of the period of the artist, closely related to the style of the named artist. MANNER OF CORNELIUS DAVID KRIEGHOFF In our best judgment, a work in the style of the named artist and of a later date. AFTER CORNELIUS DAVID KRIEGHOFF In our best judgment, a copy of a known work of the named artist. DIMENSIONS Measurements are given height before width in both inches and centimetres. SIGNED / TITLED / DATED In our best judgment, the work has been signed/titled/dated by the artist. If we state “dated 1856” then the artist has inscribed the date when the work was produced. If the artist has not inscribed the date and we state “1856”, then it is known the work was produced in 1856, based on independent research. If the artist has not inscribed the date and there is no independent date reference, then the use of “circa” approximates the date based on style and period. BEARS SIGNATURE / BEARS DATE In our best judgment, the signature/date is by a hand other than that of the artist.

Heffel, to further define its distinction in the Canadian art auction industry, has taken the following initiative. David and Robert Heffel, second~generation art dealers of the Company’s founding Heffel family, have personally crafted the foundation documents (as published on our website www.heffel.com): Heffel’s Corporate Constitutional Values and Heffel’s Code of Business Conduct, Ethics and Practices. We believe the values and ethics set out in these documents will lay in stone our moral compass. Heffel has flourished through more than three decades of change, proof that our hard work, commitment, philosophy, honour and ethics in all that we do, serves our Clients well. Heffel’s Employees and Shareholders are committed to Heffel’s Code of Business Conduct, Ethics and Practices, together with Heffel’s Corporate Constitutional Values, our Terms and Conditions of Business and related corporate policies, all as amended from time to time, with respect to our Clients, and look forward to continued shared success in this auction season and ongoing.

David K.J. Heffel President, Director and Shareholder (through Heffel Investments Ltd.)

P ROVENANCE Is intended to indicate previous collections or owners. C ERTIFICATES / LITERATURE / EXHIBITED Any reference to certificates, literature or exhibition history represents the best judgment of the authority or authors named. ESTIMATE Our Estimates are intended as a statement of our best judgment only, and represent a conservative appraisal of the expected Hammer Price. Version 2008.07, © Heffel Gallery Inc.

Robert C.S. Heffel Vice~President, Director and Shareholder (through R.C.S.H. Investments Ltd.) Version 2010.10, © Heffel Gallery Inc.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

140

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FORM

COLLECTOR PROFILE FORM

Please complete this Annual Subscription Form to receive our twice~yearly Auction Catalogues and Auction Result Sheet.

Please complete our Collector Profile Form to assist us in our ability to offer you our finest service.

To order, return a copy of this form with a cheque payable to: Heffel Gallery, 2247 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6H 3G1 Tel 604 732~6505, Fax 604 732~4245, Toll free 800 528~9608 E~mail: mail@heffel.com, Internet: www.heffel.com C ATALOGUE SUBSCRIPTIONS ~ DELIVERED

IN

OF

PARTICULAR INTEREST

IN

PURCHASING

OF

PARTICULAR INTEREST

IN

SELLING

1) 2)

TAX INCLUDED

CANADA

One Year ~ Fine Canadian Art / Post~War & Contemporary Art Two Year ~ Fine Canadian Art / Post~War & Contemporary Art

DELIVERED

ARTISTS

TO THE

UNITED STATES

AND

AT

4) $130.00 5)

OVERSEAS

One Year ~ Fine Canadian Art / Post~War & Contemporary Art Two Year ~ Fine Canadian Art / Post~War & Contemporary Art

C ANADIAN ART

3) $80.00

AUCTION INDEX ONLINE ~

$90.00

6)

$150.00

7) 8)

TAX INCLUDED

Please contact Heffel Gallery to set up One Block of 25 Search Results One Year Subscription (35 searches per month) Two Year Subscription (35 searches per month)

$50.00 $250.00 $350.00

9)

ARTISTS

Name

1) Address

2) 3) 4)

Postal Code

E~mail Address 5)

Residence Telephone

Business Telephone

Fax

Cellular

6) 7) 8)

VISA # or MasterCard #

Expiry Date

Signature

Date

9)

Version 2010.05, Š Heffel Gallery Inc.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

141

SHIPPING FORM FOR PURCHASES Heffel Fine Art Auction House will arrange to have Property purchased at the auction sale packed, insured and forwarded to the Purchaser at the Purchaser’s expense and risk pursuant to the Terms and Conditions of Business set out in the Auction Sale Catalogue. The Purchaser is aware and accepts that Heffel Fine Art Auction House does not operate a professional packing service and shall provide such assistance for the convenience only of the Purchaser. Your signature on this form releases Heffel Fine Art Auction House from any liability that may result from damage sustained by artwork during packing and shipping. All such works are packed at the Purchaser’s risk and then transported by a carrier chosen at the discretion of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. Works purchased may be subject to the Cultural Property Import and Export Act of Canada, and compliance with the provisions of the said Act is the sole responsibility of the Purchaser.

Purchaser’s Name as invoiced

Shipping Address

City

Province, Country

Postal Code

E~mail Address

Residence Telephone

Business Telephone

Fax

Cellular Telephone

Credit Card Number

Expiry Date

Sale Date Please indicate your preferred method of shipping below All Charges are Collect for Settlement by the Purchaser SHIPPING OPTIONS Please have my purchases forwarded by: Air

Surface or

Consolidated Ground Shipment to (when available): Heffel Vancouver C ARRIER

OF

Heffel Montreal

Social Security Number for U.S. Customs (U.S. Residents Only)

L OT NUMBER

L OT DESCRIPTION

in numerical order

artist

1) 2) 3)

C HOICE

Please have my purchases couriered by: FedEx

Other

Carrier Account Number O PTIONAL INSURANCE YES, please insure my purchases at full sale value while in transit. Heffel’s does not insure frames or glass. (Please note: works under glass and some ground shipments cannot be insured while in transit) NO, I do not require insurance for the purchases listed on this form. (I accept full responsibility for any loss or damage to my purchases while in transit) SHIPPING QUOTATION YES, please send me a quotation for the shipping options selected above. NO shipping quotation necessary, please forward my purchases as indicated above. (Please note: packing charges may apply in addition to shipping charges)

4)

AUTHORIZATION

FOR

COLLECTION

My purchase will be collected on my behalf

Individual or company to collect on my behalf

Date of collection/pick~up

Signed with agreement to the above

Date

Heffel Fine Art Auction House 13 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto Ontario, Canada M5R 2E1 Telephone 416 961~6505, Fax 416 961~4245 E~mail: mail@heffel.com; Internet: http://www.heffel.com Version 2010.09, © Heffel Gallery Inc.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

142

ABSENTEE BID FORM Please view our General Bidding Increments as published by Heffel.

Sale Date

L OT NUMBER

L OT DESCRIPTION

in numerical order

artist

M AXIMUM BID Hammer Price $ CAD (excluding Buyer’s Premium)

1) Billing Name

2) 3)

Address 4)

City

Province, Country

5) 6)

Postal Code

E~mail Address

Daytime Telephone

Evening Telephone

7) 8)

Fax

Cellular

I request Heffel Fine Art Auction House to enter bids on my behalf for the following Lots, up to the maximum Hammer Price I have indicated for each Lot. I understand that if my bid is successful, the purchase price shall be the Hammer Price plus a Buyer’s Premium of seventeen percent (17%) of the Hammer Price of each Lot, and applicable GST/HST and PST. I understand that Heffel Fine Art Auction House executes absentee bids as a convenience for its clients and is not responsible for inadvertently failing to execute bids or for errors relating to their execution of my bids. On my behalf, Heffel Fine Art Auction House will try to purchase these Lots for the lowest possible price, taking into account the reserve and other bids. If identical absentee bids are received, Heffel Fine Art Auction House will give precedence to the Absentee Bid Form received first. I understand and acknowledge all successful bids are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Business printed in the Heffel Fine Art Auction House catalogue.

Signature

Date Received ~ for office use only

Confirmed ~ for office use only

Date

To be sure that bids will be accepted and delivery of lots not delayed, bidders not yet known to Heffel Fine Art Auction House should supply a bank reference. All Absentee Bidders must supply a valid Mastercard or VISA # and expiry date.

MasterCard or VISA #

Expiry Date

Name of Bank

Branch

Address of Bank

Name of Account Officer

Telephone

To allow time for processing, absentee bids should be received at least 24 hours before the sale begins. Heffel Fine Art Auction House will confirm by telephone or e~mail all bids received. If you have not received our confirmation within one business day, please re~submit your bids or contact us at: 13 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto Ontario, Canada M5R 2E1 Telephone 416 961~6505, Fax 416 961~4245 E~mail: mail@heffel.com; Internet: http://www.heffel.com Version 2010.05, © Heffel Gallery Inc.


HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

INDEX OF ARTISTS BY LOT A/B A NDREWS, SYBIL 148, 149 BANTING, SIR FREDERICK GRANT 130, 131 BEATTY , JOHN WILLIAM 115 BROWNE, JOSEPH ARCHIBALD 147 BROWNELL, P ELEG FRANKLIN 180 C/D/E CARMICHAEL , FRANKLIN 121, 122, 123 CARR , EMILY 117, 184, 186, 194, 195, 196 CASSON, A LFRED JOSEPH (A.J.) 107, 124, 125 CLAPP, WILLIAM HENRY 116 COONAN , EMILY 114 CULLEN, M AURICE GALBRAITH 175, 176, 178 F/G/H/I HARRIS, L AWREN STEWART 119, 120, 129, 134, 135, 153, 155, 157, 160, 163, 164, 167, 177 HEWTON, RANDOLPH S TANLEY 198, 199 HOPKINS, FRANCES ANN BEECHEY 113 J JACKSON, ALEXANDER YOUNG (A.Y.) 106, 137, 146, 159, 162, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 182, 187, 188, 189, 190 JOHNSTON , FRANK HANS (FRANZ ) 108, 109, 174, 179, 197

K/L KRIEGHOFF, C ORNELIUS DAVID 138, 139 L ALIBERTÉ , ALFRED 183 L ISMER, ARTHUR 126, 152, 156, 158, 161, 165, 166, 200 M/N/O MACDONALD , J.E.H. 105, 118, 128 MAY, HENRIETTA M ABEL 111, 112 MAY, WALTER W ILLIAM 142 MILNE, DAVID BROWN 132, 133, 136, 173 MORRIS, KATHLEEN MOIR 110, 202 MOUNT, RITA 145 P/Q P HILLIPS, W ALTER JOSEPH (W.J.) 101, 102, 103, 104 P ILOT, ROBERT WAKEHAM 181, 201 R/S/T/U ROBINSON, ALBERT HENRY 140, 141, 143, 144 SCHAEFER, CARL FELLMAN 127 SUZOR -COTÉ, M ARC-AURÈLE DE FOY 150, 151 V/W/X/Y/Z V ARLEY, F REDERICK HORSMAN 154, 191, 192 V ERNER, FREDERICK A RTHUR 185 WESTON , WILLIAM PERCIVAL (W.P.) 193

143


Fall Live Auction Highlight Previews VANCOUVER AND MONTREAL

Vancouver Pr eview Preview Saturday, October 30 through Tuesday, November 2, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

Montr eal Pr eview Montreal Preview Thursday, November 11 through Saturday, November 13, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

Please visit our live auction online catalogue at www.heffel.com for specific details designating which Lots will be available for our Vancouver and Montreal previews.

2247 GRANVILLE STREET VANCOUVER, BC V6H 3G1 TELEPHONE: 604 732~6505 TOLL FREE: 800 528~9608 FACSIMILE: 604 732~4245

1840 RUE SHERBROOKE OUEST MONTREAL, QUEBEC H3H 1E4 TELEPHONE: 514 939~6505 TOLL FREE: 866 939~6505 FACSIMILE: 514 939~1100



HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

FINE CANADIAN ART

FINE CANADIAN ART NOVEMBER 25, 2010

V ISIT

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

www.heffel.com VANCOUVER

TORONTO

MONTREAL

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

ISBN 978~0~9811120~7~7

SALE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2010, 7PM, TORONTO

OTTAWA


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.