CANADIAN POST~WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART - Heffel

CANADIAN POST~WAR& CONTEMPORARY ARTHEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSESALE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2009, 4PM, VANCOUVER

CANADIAN POST~WAR& CONTEMPORARY ARTAUCTIONWEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 20094:00 PM, CANADIAN POST~WAR& CONTEMPORARY ART7:00 PM, FINE CANADIAN ARTVANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE WESTBURRARD ENTRANCE, ROOM 2111055 CANADA PLACE, VANCOUVERPREVIEW AT HEFFEL GALLERY, TORONTO13 HAZELTON AVENUETHURSDAY, MAY 21 THROUGHSUNDAY, MAY 24, 11:00 AM TO 6:00 PMPREVIEW AT GALERIE HEFFEL, MONTREAL1840 RUE SHERBROOKE OUESTSATURDAY, MAY 30 THROUGHMONDAY, JUNE 1, 11:00 AM TO 6:00 PMPREVIEW AT HEFFEL GALLERY, VANCOUVERSATURDAY, JUNE 13 THROUGHTUESDAY, JUNE 16, 11:00 AM TO 6:00 PMWEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 10:00 AM TO 12:00 PMHEFFEL GALLERY, VANCOUVER2247 GRANVILLE STREET, VANCOUVERBRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA V6H 3G1TELEPHONE 604 732~6505, FAX 604 732~4245INTERNET: WWW.HEFFEL.COMHEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSEVANCOUVER • TORONTO • OTTAWA • MONTREAL

2HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSEA Division of Heffel Gallery LimitedVANCOUVER2247 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3G1Telephone 604 732~6505, Fax 604 732~4245E~mail: mail@heffel.com, Internet: www.heffel.comTORONTO13 Hazelton Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2E1Telephone 416 961~6505, Fax 416 961~4245MONTREAL1840 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H3H 1E4Telephone 514 939~6505, Fax 514 939~1100OTTAWA104 Daly Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6E7Telephone 613 230~6505, Fax 613 230~8884CALGARYTelephone 403 238~6505CORPORATE BANKRoyal Bank of Canada, 1497 West BroadwayVancouver, British Columbia V6H 1H7Telephone 604 665~6941Account #05680 003: 133 503 3Swift Code: ROYccat2Incoming wires are required to be sent in Canadian funds andmust include: Heffel Gallery Limited, 2247 Granville Street,Vancouver, BC, Canada V6H 3G1 as beneficiary.BOARD OF DIRECTORSChairman In Memoriam ~ Kenneth Grant HeffelPresident ~ David Kenneth John HeffelAuctioneer License T83~3364318 and V09~110755Vice~President ~ Robert Campbell Scott HeffelAuctioneer License T83~3365303 and V09~110754HEFFEL.COM DEPARTMENTSFINE CANADIAN ARTcanadianart@heffel.comAPPRAISALSappraisals@heffel.comCANADIAN ART AT AUCTION INDEXindex@heffel.comSHIPPINGshipping@heffel.comSUBSCRIPTIONSsubscriptions@heffel.comCATALOGUE SUBSCRIPTIONSHeffel Fine Art Auction House and Heffel Gallery Limited regularlypublish a variety of materials beneficial to the art collector. AnAnnual Subscription entitles you to receive our Auction Cataloguesand Auction Result Sheets. Our Annual Subscription Form can befound on page 95 of this catalogue.AUCTION PERSONNELHughene Acheson ~ Director of Client ServicesJacques Barbeau, QC ~ Corporate ConsultantPaul S.O. Barbeau, Barbeau, Evans & Goldstein ~ Legal AdvisorLisa Christensen ~ Representative in CalgaryJesse Galicz, John Maclean, Hri Neil,and Jamey Petty ~ Internal LogisticsAndrew Gibbs ~ Director of Appraisal Services Eastern DivisionPatsy Kim Heffel ~ Director of AccountingLindsay Jackson ~ Manager of Appraisal Services Eastern DivisionNina Kim ~ Director of Post~War & Contemporary ArtBobby Ma ~ Director of Shipping and FramingAlison Meredith ~ Director of Online Auction SalesJill Meredith ~ Manager of Coordination and ReportingKirbi Pitt ~ Manager of Advertising and MarketingTania Poggione ~ Director of Montreal OfficeNadine Power ~ Director of Condition ReportsOlivia Ragoussis ~ Manager of Montreal OfficeJudith Scolnik ~ Director of Toronto OfficeKate Stephenson ~ Director of Appraisal Services Western DivisionRoss Sullivan ~ Director of Public RelationsRosalin Te Omra ~ Director of Fine Canadian Art ResearchGoran Urosevic ~ Director of Information ServicesCATALOGUE PRODUCTIONHughene Acheson, Dr. Mark Cheetham, Lisa Christensen,Brian Dedora, Dr. François~Marc Gagnon, Robert Heffel,Lindsay Jackson, Nina Kim, Hri Neil, Tania Poggione,Nadine Power, Judith Scolnik, Kate Stephenson, Rosalin Te Omraand Scott Watson ~ Essay ContributorsElizabeth Fisher, Scott Gorman, Hri Neiland Olivia Ragoussis ~ Digital ImagingBrian Goble ~ Director of Digital ImagingJill Meredith and Kirbi Pitt ~ Catalogue LayoutDavid Heffel ~ Catalogue Layout, ProductionIris Schindel ~ Text Editing, Catalogue ProductionPRINTINGGeneration Printing, VancouverISBN 978~0~9811120~1~5COPYRIGHTNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored inretrieval 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 Limited.

3AUCTION LOCATIONPREVIEWHeffel Gallery2247 Granville Street, VancouverTelephone 604 732~6505Toll Free 800 528~9608AUCTIONVancouver Convention Centre West, Burrard EntranceRoom 211, 1055 Canada Place, VancouverVCC Main Switchboard 604 689~8232Saleroom Cell 604 418~6505Call Alison in our Vancouver office for special accommodation rates, or email alison@heffel.comPlease refer to page 100 for Toronto and Montreal preview locations

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 4TABLE OF CONTENTS5 SELLING AT AUCTION5 BUYING AT AUCTION5 GENERAL BIDDING INCREMENTS5 FRAMING, RESTORATION AND SHIPPING5 WRITTEN VALUATIONS AND APPRAISALS7 CANADIAN POST~WAR &CONTEMPORARY ART CATALOGUE86 NOTICES FOR COLLECTORS89 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS94 CATALOGUE TERMS94 CATALOGUE ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS95 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FORM95 COLLECTOR PROFILE FORM96 SHIPPING FORM FOR PURCHASES97 ABSENTEE BID FORM98 INDEX OF ARTISTS

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSEVANCOUVER • TORONTO • OTTAWA • MONTREALThe Purchaser and the Consignor are hereby advised to readfully the Terms and Conditions of Business and Catalogue Terms,which set out and establish the rights and obligations of theAuction House, the Purchaser and the Consignor, and theterms by which the Auction House shall conduct the sale andhandle other related matters. This information appears onpages 89 through 94 of this publication.All Lots can be viewed on our Internet site at:http://www.heffel.comPlease consult our online catalogue for informationspecifying which works will be present in each of ourpreview locations at:http://www.heffel.com/auctionIf you are unable to attend our auction, we produce a livewebcast of our sale commencing at 3:50 PM PDT. We do notoffer real~time Internet bidding for our live auctions, but wedo accept Absentee and prearranged Telephone bids.Information on Absentee and Telephone bidding appears onpages 5 and 97 of this publication.We recommend that you test your streaming video setup priorto our sale at:http://www.heffel.tvOur Estimates are in Canadian funds. Buying 1.00 Canadiandollar will cost approximately 0.84 US dollar, 0.64 Euro, 0.57British Pound, 85 Japanese Yen and 6.51 Hong Kong Dollarsas of our publication date.

CANADIAN POST~WAR& CONTEMPORARY ARTCATALOGUESALE WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2009, 4:00 PM, VANCOUVER

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 8PROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the ArtistPrivate Collection, OntarioLITERATURE:Scott Watson, Jack Shadbolt, 1990, page 32,a panel from the mural About Town with theUnited Services reproduced page 32In the 1930s, Jack Shadbolt was stronglyinfluenced by the socially conscious work ofMexican muralist Diego Rivera and that ofAmerican Thomas Hart Benton ~ particularly hisfamous Hoosier mural. In 1943, Shadbolt foundthe opportunity to create a large, panoramicmural commission about Vancouver in wartime,an eight~panel work entitled About Town with theUnited Services. After making preparatorysketches and watercolour studies, Shadbolt,assisted by artist Eric Friefeld, painted the imagesdirectly onto a plaster wall in the canteen of theUnited Services Recreation Centre. The use ofarchitectural detail is exact and specific, such asthis work’s distinctive Duff’s Cafe sign, motivatedby Shadbolt’s desire to spur businesses to use artin their buildings, and for people to identify withtheir own urban environment of streets, shopsand buildings. Shadbolt wanted the mural tohave a sense of community ~ a “people’s art madeby an artist for the people.”Unfortunately, the mural was demolished alongwith the building, leaving only the preparatoryworks such as this fine watercolour tocommemorate it. Shadbolt has captured thevitality of Vancouver’s historic downtown at duskin this exceptional image, warmed bystreetlamps and redolent of atmosphere.ESTIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,0001 JACK LEONARD SHADBOLTBCSFA CGP CSPWC OC RCA 1909 ~ 1998Pender St. at Granville ~Sketch for United Services Centre Muralwatercolour on illustration board, signed, dated 1942and inscribed in the margin zoot suit, summer shorts, sailorsand on verso titled11 3/8 x 8 1/2 in, 28.9 x 21.6 cm1

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 9PROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the ArtistPrivate Collection, OntarioLITERATURE:Scott Watson, Jack Shadbolt, 1990, page 4During World War II, Jack Shadboltenlisted, and in 1944 was based inVancouver. After transferring to Ontarioin that same year, he was then postedoverseas to London in February 1945,although there is documentation thatsuggests he traveled there in late 1944,corroborated by the two dates on thiswork. Cornwall was a painting placefavoured by Shadbolt, and this scene is thetiny fishing village of Mousehole, whoseharbour is protected from the force of thesea by two distinctive breakwaters. Thenautical details of the boats scattered in aline out through the harbour entrance, theseashore atmosphere and the strong stonewalls of the harbour give great charm tothis exceptional watercolour. Throughouthis career, Shadbolt returned to seashore,harbour and boat themes, from Canada’sWest Coast to Cornwall in England andCollioure in France. Shadbolt’s greatfeeling for the sea began in his childhoodwhen he sailed in rafts on Victoria’s DallasRoad beach, and he stated, “It is the shorewhere the edge of history washes up to mydoor but extends for a thousand miles ineach direction. It is a mysterious,luminous sea.”ESTIMATE: $8,000 ~ 12,0002 JACK LEONARD SHADBOLTBCSFA CGP CSPWC OC RCA 1909 ~ 1998Mousehole, Cornwallwatercolour on paper, signed twice and dated 1944 and 1945and on verso signed, titled, dated 1945 and inscribed461 N. Glynde Ave., Vancouver, BC19 x 14 3/4 in, 48.3 x 37.5 cm2

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 103 JACK LEONARD SHADBOLTBCSFA CGP CSPWC OC RCA 1909 ~ 1998Near Ashcroftwatercolour on paper, signed, titled and dated July 1954and on verso signed, titled Shacks, Merrit, BC and dated15 3/4 x 22 1/2 in, 40 x 57.1 cmPROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the ArtistPrivate Collection, OntarioLITERATURE:Jack Shadbolt, In Search of Form, 1968, pages 76 and 77In the 1950s, Jack Shadbolt’s profile was on the rise, and he was shown inan impressive array of international exhibitions as a representative ofCanada: the Caracas Bienal in 1953 and 1955; the Sao Paulo Bienal, 1954;the Carnagie International Exhibition (Pittsburgh) in 1955; the VeniceBiennale, 1956; the Brussels International Exposition, 1958; and theGuggenheim International Exhibition, also in 1958.Shadbolt credited the Group of Seven for stressing the importance ofworking on location to find the true spirit of a landscape, and stated,“Through detail we can enter into wonder. Roaming around a ‘world’inhabited by its own special objects, one is taken inside the experience asa participator.” Shadbolt was often intrigued by buildings and theopportunities they presented for creating a rhythm through their angularplanes, as with these shacks at Merritt juxtaposed one against the other.Near Ashcroft is a fine example of what Shadbolt called his “relaxedClassical attitude”, with all its elements quietly present, radiating thecalm ambiance of BC’s rural interior.ESTIMATE: $6,000 ~ 8,0003

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 114 JACK LEONARD SHADBOLTBCSFA CGP CSPWC OC RCA 1909 ~ 1998Chinatownwatercolour and charcoal on paper,signed and dated 196826 x 40 in, 66 x 101.6 cmPROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the ArtistPrivate Collection, OntarioLITERATURE:Scott Watson, Jack Shadbolt Drawings, 1994, page 7One of Canada’s most distinguished West Coast artists, Jack Shadbolt hada long and illustrious career. Shadbolt was omnidirectional, working instyles varying from abstraction to realism. Although the year of thiswatercolour is 1968, it relates to the work influenced by Social Realismthat he was doing in the 1940s. This is typical of Shadbolt, who did notwork in a linear fashion ~ he would circle around to previous directions,and was known to return to paintings decades later to change them. ScottWatson writes, “He works in large achronological circles, mapping out ashifting terrain ~ some might call it a war zone ~ between the axes of histemperament and the means of expression he has mastered.” InChinatown, Shadbolt finds great visual interest in the ramshacklestructure with its organic, casual construction surrounded by randompieces of lumber and other flotsam at its base ~ the house rising above thechaos. In this, although the house is man’s creation, Chinatown relates toone of Shadbolt’s deepest themes ~ that of the world of organic birth anddecay in nature.ESTIMATE: $6,000 ~ 8,0004

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 125 EDWARD JOHN (E.J.) HUGHESBCSFA CGP RCA 1913 ~ 2007Mouth of the Courtenay River, BCgraphite on card, signed and dated 1952and on verso signed, titled and dated15 x 18 in, 38.1 x 45.7 cmPROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the ArtistBy descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver IslandLITERATURE:Doris Shadbolt, E.J. Hughes, Vancouver Art Gallery, 1967, the canvasproduced from this drawing, in the collection of the College of Physiciansand Surgeons, reproduced page 23Ian M. Thom, E.J. Hughes, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2002, the canvasproduced from this drawing, in the collection of the College of Physiciansand Surgeons, reproduced page 109Jacques Barbeau, A Journey with E.J. Hughes, 2005, a related 2003watercolour entitled Mouth of the Courtenay River reproduced page 110E.J. Hughes produced graphite drawings in the field, annotated inpreparation for future paintings. He preferred this working method dueto the rapid weather changes of the West Coast, and because of the natureof his precise, highly detailed compositions. In letters to Lawren Harris, hementioned that he had attempted sketches using other mediums, but hadconcluded that graphite drawings were the best for him. From the fieldsketch, he would also sometimes make a further highly detailed, finishedgraphite drawing which he called a cartoon. These cartoons, with refinedcompositions and an astonishing sense of atmosphere achieved throughtonalities of graphite, acted as a bridge between the field sketch and thestudio painting, and were finished works in themselves.This exquisite cartoon from 1952, a highly sought~after period in Hughes’swork, has all the elements of a classic Hughes: a beautiful natural scenewarmed by the presence of boats and people in a complex multi~layeredcomposition. The setting is the Courtenay River, which flows into anestuary known for its salmon spawning grounds.ESTIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,0005

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 136 EDWARD JOHN (E.J.) HUGHESBCSFA CGP RCA 1913 ~ 2007Unloading Logs, Comox Harbourgraphite on card, signed and dated 1952and on verso signed, titled and dated14 x 19 1/4 in, 35.6 x 48.9 cmPROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the ArtistBy descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver IslandLITERATURE:Ian M. Thom, E.J. Hughes, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2002, the canvasproduced from this drawing entitled Unloading Logs, Comox Harbour,1953, in The Barbeau Foundation Collection, reproduced page 120Jacques Barbeau, A Journey with E.J. Hughes, 2005, the canvas producedfrom this drawing entitled Unloading Logs, Comox Harbour reproducedpage 12 and a related drawing entitled Log Dump at Royston, ComoxHarbour reproduced page 34In 1951, E.J. Hughes moved to Shawnigan Lake; from there he exploredthe coastline of eastern Vancouver Island, finding great interest in all theactivities he saw, including working boats and harbours. On VancouverIsland, logging followed farming as the mainstay of the economy. Thisscene is of the log dump at Royston, started by R.J. Filberg, owner ofComox Valley Logging. His son purchased this vigorous cartoon drawingwith lots 5 and 7 in this sale from Hughes’s studio in Shawnigan Lake.Hughes’s ability to capture not just the details of the scene but its uniquefeeling and clarity of atmosphere in highly finished graphite drawingssuch as this is truly remarkable. These tonal drawings, called cartoons,are rare, as he stopped doing them around 1959. His practice of executingthem at night from his annotated field drawings caused eyestrain, and hewas under pressure from Max Stern, his dealer at Dominion Gallery, toproduce watercolours and oils during daylight. However, Hughes wasknown to have expressed a longing to return to making cartoons, for thesheer enjoyment of the process of doing them.ESTIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,0006

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 147 EDWARD JOHN (E.J.) HUGHESBCSFA CGP RCA 1913 ~ 2007Church at Sandwickgraphite on card, signed and dated 1951and on verso signed, titled and dated15 x 19 in, 38.1 x 48.3 cmPROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the ArtistBy descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver IslandThe subject of this drawing is Saint Andrew’s Anglican Church, ahistorical landmark in Courtenay, BC. It was built in 1863 by the settlerswho arrived on the ship HMS Grappler to farm the land on VancouverIsland. But while the building’s history is interesting, what is morefascinating is E.J. Hughes’s intense degree of observation of it. In thishighly finished graphite cartoon drawing, the realistic crystallization ofthe primary elements ~ the church, the tree beside it with its powerfulbranches seemingly tossed in the wind, the power pole leaning toward it,and the rise and curve of the ground toward them ~ create a charged,heightened scene. Added to this is the absence of people, focusing on theatmosphere of the church itself, and the unconscious symbolism of thepole, a kind of electrified cross. In drawings such as this lie the very heartof the three~dimensional realism that Hughes brought to his paintings,carefully worked out through black and white tonalities and carefullyconsidered layers of composition. Church at Sandwick, from the desireableperiod of the 1950s, is a remarkable expression of Hughes’s uniquevision.ESTIMATE: $10,000 ~ 15,0007

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 158 JACK LEONARD SHADBOLTBCSFA CGP CSPWC OC RCA 1909 ~ 1998Country Church, Saanichwatercolour on paper, signed and dated 1947and on verso titled and dated15 1/4 x 19 in, 38.7 x 48.3 cmPROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the ArtistPrivate Collection, OntarioJack Shadbolt was influenced in the 1930s by the American and Mexicanmuralists such as Thomas Hart Benton and Diego Rivera. The emphasisof the muralists on Social Realism and rural values is a backgroundambiance in Shadbolt’s awareness in works such as this. He was alsoinspired by their use of solid three~dimensional form, and in CountryChurch, Saanich, form is robust and the buildings feel rooted in thelandscape. The simplicity of the scene has a directness and honesty, withthe inclusion of elements such as the car and the electrical poles.Shadbolt’s use of light and shadow is dramatic, with the sun lighting upthe white church like a beacon of light, contrasted with the moodiness ofthe shadows on the road and the dark hill behind. The lone figurecontributes an intriguing note of narrative to this strong watercolour.It is interesting to note that the 1941 drawing for this fine watercolourentitled Old Church and Car was sold at Heffel’s, June 25, 2005, lot 46.ESTIMATE: $8,000 ~ 12,0008

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HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 179 PAUL~ÉMILE BORDUASCAS QMG RCA 1905 ~ 1960Ouvertures imprévuesoil on canvas, signed and dated 1956and on verso titled on the Dominion Gallery label13 x 16 in, 33 x 40.6 cmPROVENANCE:Dominion Gallery, MontrealPrivate Collection, OntarioOuvertures imprévues belongs to Borduas’s Parisian period of 1955 to1960. In 1956, Paul~Émile Borduas, who had not yet succeeded inmaking any fruitful contact with galleries or museums in Paris, receivedsuccessive visits from Canadian gallery owners and collectors, whoacquired most of his production of the preceding months. Max Stern ofthe Dominion Gallery in Montreal came in May and acquired 13 oil oncanvases, among them our Ouvertures imprévues, and 11 watercolours.Soon after, Montreal collectors Gerard and Gisele Lortie visited Borduas’sstudio and acquired six paintings; in July, Montreal gallery owner AgnèsLefort bought two paintings; in August, R.H. Hubbard from the NationalGallery obtained the famous Sea Gull; and finally in September, MarthaJackson, the well~known New York gallery owner, acquired nine of hismost recent paintings. This enabled Borduas to take a break after thisintensive period of work; he bought a Simca convertible car and made atrip to Italy later in September.All these commercial activities were certainly beneficial for the painter,but create some difficulties for the historian! Paintings sold to galleryowners or to private collectors tend to disappear from sight and renderthe task of reconstructing the painter’s development difficult. Forinstance, of all the oil on canvas works acquired by Max Stern in May, onlyone was known until recently ~ the famous Expansion rayonnante, a blackand white work from 1956, now in the collection of the MontrealMuseum of Fine Arts (a gift of Dr. and Mrs. Stern in 1978). This is why theemergence of Ouvertures imprévues is so exciting. Obviously it precedesthe advent of his black and white paintings, but more importantly, itshows how Borduas finally succeeded in integrating the NewYork~influenced watercolours that he had made two years previously.In New York, Borduas had been intrigued by Jackson Pollock’s driptechnique and had tried his hand at it in some of his watercolours of 1954.But nothing of that transpired in his oils of the period. It was only in Paristwo years later, as our Ouvertures imprévues clearly shows, that he found away to integrate, if not dripping itself, at least an equivalent of it bydelicate traces of the painter’s knife used on its edge here and there abovethe white, grey and red background. These traces of black are in fact morecalligraphic, almost Japanese, than anything done by Pollock and showhow Borduas succeeded in adapting his own vocabulary for what hadfascinated him before. These traces of black were obviously added to awhite and grey (with tiny spots of red) composition and tended to suggesta reading in depth. Perhaps this is what suggested the title of UnpredictedOpenings. When these “openings” would begin to be painted in solidblack instead of these subtle gradations of grey and brown, we wouldenter the black and white period for which Borduas is famous. Here weare just before this event in his development and it is because of this,I believe, that Ouvertures imprévues is so touching. It is a perfectlycontrolled composition, alternating vertical and horizontal strokes ofwhite and grey that come from the four edges of the surface towards thecentre, where most of the “openings” occur. This is Borduas at his best.In Paris he spoke of his admiration for Mondrian, and something of thatregard is shown in this rigorous composition. But the spontaneity and theobvious speed and mastery of the handling of paint make us forgetwhatever influences may have played here, and we are delighted with thesheer beauty of the painting.We thank François~Marc Gagnon of the Gail and Stephen A. JarislowskyInstitute of Studies in Canadian Art, Concordia University, forcontributing the above essay.ESTIMATE: $80,000 ~ 100,000

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HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 1910 WILLIAM KURELEKARCA OC OSA 1927 ~ 1977After the Blizzard in Manitobamixed media on board, initialed and dated 1967and on verso signed, titled, dated and inscribeddonated to Mrs. Gerald Hollyer and for KingsmillCompany in gratitude for services renderened [sic]in purchase of a house 196520 x 28 1/2 in, 50.8 x 72.4 cmPROVENANCE:Acquired directly from the Artist, 1967Private Collection, TorontoLITERATURE:Philip Earnshaw, director, The Passion of Christ According to Saint Matthew:William Kurelek, film, 2005In addition to being one of Canada’s most accomplished and interestingartists, William Kurelek wrote and illustrated many award~winningchildren’s books. His joyous explorations of childhood themes in his artmade this a natural extension of his work. And while his art and writingscan be enjoyed for their simple and exuberant content, to do so is to miss adeeper layer of meaning. A child of the Depression and the oldest of sevenchildren in a hard~working Ukrainian Orthodox immigrant family, hisyouth was spent on the open prairie of Manitoba. He showed an earlyaptitude for drawing, but this career path was not supported by hisfarming parents, particularly his father. Their troubled relationship was“an agony to them both”, and Kurelek would ultimately suffer depressionand suicidal despair. Largely self~taught, he attended the Ontario Collegeof Art briefly, but was drifting and searching for a path. He traveled to SanMiguel de Allende, Mexico, where he discovered the Nicolaïdes methodof drawing, which he would later credit with helping him discover hisown style. Keenly interested in religious iconography and wanting to seethe world’s great art, he traveled to England in the early 1950s. There, hismental health failed and he was treated for depression. While in thehospital, he painted the cathartic masterwork The Maze, wherein heexplores in painful detail the unhappiness in his life. He achieved successas a painter as a result of his pain, and in an interesting twist, a piousCatholic nurse who cared for him during this time inspired Kurelek torevisit religion, and he converted to Catholicism in 1957.Returning to Canada as an established painter, he explored the issues inhis life through his art. His subtle blend of everyday events and religiousthemes are engaging on many levels. Presented to us as Canadian scenes,Old World religious imagery is everywhere in his work. Families walk tochurch, priests come for dinner, mothers and sons appear together inharmony. The scenes are full of the simple beauty of rural life ~ families atrest and play, celebrating birthdays, tending animals, doing the mundanechores. Additionally, these everyday acts are given deeper meaning in thedetails and surface treatment of the works. One might compare thesurface of Kurelek’s paintings, which are hard and smooth, oftenglass~like, to inlaid enamel and religious icons of the sixteenth andseventeenth centuries. His unique method of incising dried but uncuredpaint with a ballpoint pen, and using coloured pencils to etch, scratch anddraw on the paint’s surface, furthers this effect. The contrast of the richsurface and the often simple subjects makes for an interestingjuxtaposition of form and image. This is particularly the case in After theBlizzard in Manitoba where we see a group of children playing wildly onthe cliff of snow cut by a plough after a heavy blizzard. The scene is largelycomprised of snow, but handled with Kurelek’s unique style, the vastwhiteness itself is a dance of light and shadow as the colour of the skyrepeats in the children’s snowsuits and the distant sleigh. The scene isalmost fantastical, as the snow blankets the telephone poles almost totheir tops which jut, cross~like, from the surface of the massive drift.Without worry of injury, children slide, tunnel and climb. Only the doghesitates to bound into the fray. The work is absolutely joyous ~ childrenplaying in the snow ~ yet, we are reminded by Kurelek of the brevity ofyouth as the adult in the scene heads out of the picture in a sleigh, his backto the fun, intent on some serious adult purpose.ESTIMATE: $50,000 ~ 70,000

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 2011 YVES GAUCHERARCA 1934 ~ 2000NT~G~JL / 68 I ~ Nat Gris Iacrylic on canvas, on verso signed on the canvas,titled twice, on the canvas NT~G~JL / 68 Iand on the stretcher Nat Gris I and dated 1968on the canvas36 x 36 in, 91.4 x 91.4 cmPROVENANCE:Galerie Agnès Lefort, MontrealBy descent to the present Private Collection, OntarioLITERATURE:William Withrow, Contemporary Canadian Painting, 1972, page 172Roald Nasgaard, Yves Gaucher: The Fifteen~Year Perspective / 1963 ~ 1978,1979, page 79NT~G~JL / 68 I ~ Nat Gris I embraces a minimalist aesthetic in order toevoke perceptual processes, and is part of Yves Gaucher’s Grey on Grey11series. This series began in December 1967 with Gaucher initiallyintending a small production of approximately 12 paintings, yet byOctober 1969 when he finished, over 60 canvases had been completed.Each painting in the series was given a title that consisted of a letter /number formula, denoting the colours used, along with the inclusionof the date.Music was an important influence on Gaucher’s work and in NT~G~JL /68 I ~ Nat Gris I , the monochromatic canvas is punctuated by shorthorizontal lines known as signals, that draw the viewer’s eye in and out ofthe canvas, creating a visual rhythm. Roald Nasgaard explains the signalsas “impulses of sound moving through and activating the silence of thefield.” William Withrow further relates that, “with an understanding ofGaucher’s unique success in bringing together the musical and the visual,the viewer is enabled to appreciate the richness behind the austeresurfaces of his work.” These Grey on Grey paintings went on to achieveenormous success internationally.ESTIMATE: $12,000 ~ 15,000