Caribou Hunters in a Winter Snow Storm
30.5 cms x 50.8 cms (12 ins x 20 ins)
Signed
Lot offered for sale by Heffel, Vancouver at the auction event "Fine Canadian Art Fall 2005 Live auction" held on Thu, Nov 24, 2005.
Lot 146
Lot 146
Estimate: CAD $80,000 - $100,000
Realised: CAD $92,000
Realised: CAD $92,000
Lot description - from the online catalogue*
Provenance:
Mrs. David Ross, whose first husband was James Gibb, friend and patron of the Artist
By descent to John Theodore Ross, Quebec City
By descent to a Private Collection, Vancouver Island
Private Collection, Montreal
Notes:
It is probably fair to say that for Cornelius Krieghoff the most important season was winter. His images of the habitants of Quebec playing, working and living their lives in a world of white, are among his most popular. The effects of snow and snowfall, so clearly seen in this canvas, suggest Krieghoff's deep understanding of his adopted home and a keen eye to what might prove to be popular subjects for his patrons, the merchants and military men of Montreal and Quebec. Krieghoff pays attention to all the details of the landscape - the varieties of trees, the grey expanse of the sky and the expanse of the road. Similarly, he has been careful to depict the costume of the hunters and details of their guns and to suggest their hardship in the snowstorm. In common with his best work, the element of narrative - here, a caribou hunt - is an important aspect of the painting. Krieghoff was aware that many of his paintings would not remain in Canada and such a scene would have an element of exoticism for a viewer in England. As it happened, a friend of the artist, Mr. James Gibb, originally purchased the work. For Gibb it probably had a more personal sense - perhaps an experience shared with the artist or a fellow hunter. Over a hundred years later the painting is, for us, a valuable record of our history and a glimpse of a lost way of life.
John Theodore Ross owned several important Cornelius Krieghoff paintings. Ross owned the masterpieces Merrymaking, 1860, now in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB, and Crack in the Ice, which is now in the Kenneth Thomson Collection. On verso is a photocopy of a black and white photograph showing Caribou Hunters in a Winter Snow Storm hanging in the Ross's home along with their other masterpieces by Krieghoff.
Mrs. David Ross, whose first husband was James Gibb, friend and patron of the Artist
By descent to John Theodore Ross, Quebec City
By descent to a Private Collection, Vancouver Island
Private Collection, Montreal
Notes:
It is probably fair to say that for Cornelius Krieghoff the most important season was winter. His images of the habitants of Quebec playing, working and living their lives in a world of white, are among his most popular. The effects of snow and snowfall, so clearly seen in this canvas, suggest Krieghoff's deep understanding of his adopted home and a keen eye to what might prove to be popular subjects for his patrons, the merchants and military men of Montreal and Quebec. Krieghoff pays attention to all the details of the landscape - the varieties of trees, the grey expanse of the sky and the expanse of the road. Similarly, he has been careful to depict the costume of the hunters and details of their guns and to suggest their hardship in the snowstorm. In common with his best work, the element of narrative - here, a caribou hunt - is an important aspect of the painting. Krieghoff was aware that many of his paintings would not remain in Canada and such a scene would have an element of exoticism for a viewer in England. As it happened, a friend of the artist, Mr. James Gibb, originally purchased the work. For Gibb it probably had a more personal sense - perhaps an experience shared with the artist or a fellow hunter. Over a hundred years later the painting is, for us, a valuable record of our history and a glimpse of a lost way of life.
John Theodore Ross owned several important Cornelius Krieghoff paintings. Ross owned the masterpieces Merrymaking, 1860, now in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB, and Crack in the Ice, which is now in the Kenneth Thomson Collection. On verso is a photocopy of a black and white photograph showing Caribou Hunters in a Winter Snow Storm hanging in the Ross's home along with their other masterpieces by Krieghoff.
Most realised prices include the Buyer's Premium of 18-25%, but not the HST/GST Tax.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Heffel auction house for permission to use.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Heffel auction house for permission to use.