The Chintz Sofa, circa 1912
80.59 cms x 99.1 cms (31.75 ins x 39 ins)
Signed lower left; studio stamp and titled on the reverse
Lot offered for sale by Cowley Abbott, Toronto at the auction event "An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art (Session 2)" held on Wed, Dec 6, 2023.
Lot 42564
Lot 42564
Estimate: CAD $250,000 - $350,000
Realised: CAD $888,000
Realised: CAD $888,000
Lot description - from the online catalogue*
Provenance:
The Artist
By descent to Dollie and May McNicoll, Montreal
Continental Galleries, Montreal
Paul Duval, Toronto
Acquired by the present Private Collection, circa 1970
Exhibitions:
"139th Annual Spring Exhibition", Royal Society of British Artists, London, 1913, no. 190
"Memorial Exhibition of Paintings by the Late Helen G. McNicoll, R.C.A., A.R.C.A.", Art Association of Montreal, 7 November‒6 December 1925, no. 77
"Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; travelling to Musée du Québec, Quebec City; Vancouver Art Gallery; Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, 14 May 1988‒7 May 1989, no. 49
"Season Opening Exhibition of Canadian Art", Granite Club, North York, Ontario, October 1970
"Visions of Light & Air: Canadian Impressionism, 1885‒1920", Musée du Québec; Québec City; travelling to Americas Society Art Gallery, New York; The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; The Frick Art Museum, Pittsburgh; Art Gallery of Hamilton, 14 June 1995‒8 December 1996, no. 59
"Helen McNicoll: A Canadian Impressionist", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 10 September‒12 December 1999, no. 41
"The Group of Seven: Revelations and Changing Perspectives, Gallery One: Salon Style", McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, 2010
"Forging the Path: The Forerunners (1870‒1920)", McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, 2 October 2010‒30 January 2011
"Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons, 1880‒1930", National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; travelling to Kunsthalle der Hypo‒Kulturstiftung, Munich; Fondation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne; Musée Fabre, Montpellier, 19 July 2019‒3 July 2021, no. 73
"Cassatt‒McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 31 May‒4 September 2023
Literature:
Dennis Reid, "Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection," Toronto, 1988, reproduced page 54
Paul Duval, "Canadian Impressionism, Toronto", 1990, page 96, reproduced page 97
Carol Lowrey, ‘Into Line with the Progress of Art: The Impressionist Tradition in Canadian Painting, 1885‒1920’, in Lowrey, "Visions of Light and Air: Canadian Impressionism, 1885‒1920", New York, 1995, no. 59, reproduced page 130
Jonathan Goodman, ‘Impressionism‒Canadian Style’, "Montreal Gazette", 18 February 1996, reproduced page F3
Natalie Luckyj, "Helen McNicoll: A Canadian Impressionist", Toronto, 1999, page 63, reproduced page 65
Regina Haggo, ‘Reviving a Faded Glory’, "Hamilton Spectator", 13 November 1999, reproduced page W6
Paul Gessell, ‘Women's Art Comes out of the Crate’, "Ottawa Citizen", 23 November 2000, reproduced page F1
Kristina Huneault, ‘Impressions of Difference: The Painted Canvases of Helen McNicoll’, "Art History 27", no. 2 (April 2004), pages 220‒221, reproduced page 220
A.K. Prakash, "Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists," Richmond Hill, 2008, page 70, reproduced page 71
A.K. Prakash, ‘Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists’, "Queen's Quarterly 116", no. 3, reproduced page 361
Katerina Atanassova, "Forging the Path: The Forerunners (1870‒1920)", Kleinburg, 2010, reproduced page 23
Katerina Atanassova, "The Group of Seven: Revelations and Changing Perspectives," Kleinburg, 2010, reproduced page 13
A.K. Prakash, "Impressionism in Canada: A Journey of Rediscovery", Stuttgart, 2015, reproduced pages 496‒497
Katerina Atanassova, "Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons, 1880‒1930", Ottawa, 2019, pages 95, 265, reproduced page 194 Samantha Burton, "Helen McNicoll: Life and Work", Toronto, 2020, page 50, reproduced page 51
Devon Smither, Alena Buis, Sarah E.K. Smith, Johanna Amos, Jennifer Kennedy & Liz Cavaliere, eds, "CanadARThistories: Reimagining the Canadian Art History Survey" (Toronto: eCampus Ontario, 2022 & ongoing),
Notes:
Born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of David McNicholl, a vice-president and director of the Canadian Pacific Railway. She became deaf from the effects of scarlet fever contracted in childhood. Her talent for art was considerable and it was not long before she pursued formal studies in painting. She studied at the Montreal Art Association under William Brymner, then the Slade School of Art, London, England; and under Al. Talmage at St. Ives, Cornwall, England. She won the Jessie Dow Prize in 1908 and the Women’s Art Society prize in 1914. She was elected member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1913 and, in 1914, became an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy.
The Artist
By descent to Dollie and May McNicoll, Montreal
Continental Galleries, Montreal
Paul Duval, Toronto
Acquired by the present Private Collection, circa 1970
Exhibitions:
"139th Annual Spring Exhibition", Royal Society of British Artists, London, 1913, no. 190
"Memorial Exhibition of Paintings by the Late Helen G. McNicoll, R.C.A., A.R.C.A.", Art Association of Montreal, 7 November‒6 December 1925, no. 77
"Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; travelling to Musée du Québec, Quebec City; Vancouver Art Gallery; Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, 14 May 1988‒7 May 1989, no. 49
"Season Opening Exhibition of Canadian Art", Granite Club, North York, Ontario, October 1970
"Visions of Light & Air: Canadian Impressionism, 1885‒1920", Musée du Québec; Québec City; travelling to Americas Society Art Gallery, New York; The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; The Frick Art Museum, Pittsburgh; Art Gallery of Hamilton, 14 June 1995‒8 December 1996, no. 59
"Helen McNicoll: A Canadian Impressionist", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 10 September‒12 December 1999, no. 41
"The Group of Seven: Revelations and Changing Perspectives, Gallery One: Salon Style", McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, 2010
"Forging the Path: The Forerunners (1870‒1920)", McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, 2 October 2010‒30 January 2011
"Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons, 1880‒1930", National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; travelling to Kunsthalle der Hypo‒Kulturstiftung, Munich; Fondation de l'Hermitage, Lausanne; Musée Fabre, Montpellier, 19 July 2019‒3 July 2021, no. 73
"Cassatt‒McNicoll: Impressionists Between Worlds", Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 31 May‒4 September 2023
Literature:
Dennis Reid, "Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection," Toronto, 1988, reproduced page 54
Paul Duval, "Canadian Impressionism, Toronto", 1990, page 96, reproduced page 97
Carol Lowrey, ‘Into Line with the Progress of Art: The Impressionist Tradition in Canadian Painting, 1885‒1920’, in Lowrey, "Visions of Light and Air: Canadian Impressionism, 1885‒1920", New York, 1995, no. 59, reproduced page 130
Jonathan Goodman, ‘Impressionism‒Canadian Style’, "Montreal Gazette", 18 February 1996, reproduced page F3
Natalie Luckyj, "Helen McNicoll: A Canadian Impressionist", Toronto, 1999, page 63, reproduced page 65
Regina Haggo, ‘Reviving a Faded Glory’, "Hamilton Spectator", 13 November 1999, reproduced page W6
Paul Gessell, ‘Women's Art Comes out of the Crate’, "Ottawa Citizen", 23 November 2000, reproduced page F1
Kristina Huneault, ‘Impressions of Difference: The Painted Canvases of Helen McNicoll’, "Art History 27", no. 2 (April 2004), pages 220‒221, reproduced page 220
A.K. Prakash, "Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists," Richmond Hill, 2008, page 70, reproduced page 71
A.K. Prakash, ‘Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists’, "Queen's Quarterly 116", no. 3, reproduced page 361
Katerina Atanassova, "Forging the Path: The Forerunners (1870‒1920)", Kleinburg, 2010, reproduced page 23
Katerina Atanassova, "The Group of Seven: Revelations and Changing Perspectives," Kleinburg, 2010, reproduced page 13
A.K. Prakash, "Impressionism in Canada: A Journey of Rediscovery", Stuttgart, 2015, reproduced pages 496‒497
Katerina Atanassova, "Canada and Impressionism: New Horizons, 1880‒1930", Ottawa, 2019, pages 95, 265, reproduced page 194 Samantha Burton, "Helen McNicoll: Life and Work", Toronto, 2020, page 50, reproduced page 51
Devon Smither, Alena Buis, Sarah E.K. Smith, Johanna Amos, Jennifer Kennedy & Liz Cavaliere, eds, "CanadARThistories: Reimagining the Canadian Art History Survey" (Toronto: eCampus Ontario, 2022 & ongoing),
Notes:
Born in Toronto, Ontario, the daughter of David McNicholl, a vice-president and director of the Canadian Pacific Railway. She became deaf from the effects of scarlet fever contracted in childhood. Her talent for art was considerable and it was not long before she pursued formal studies in painting. She studied at the Montreal Art Association under William Brymner, then the Slade School of Art, London, England; and under Al. Talmage at St. Ives, Cornwall, England. She won the Jessie Dow Prize in 1908 and the Women’s Art Society prize in 1914. She was elected member of the Royal Society of British Artists in 1913 and, in 1914, became an Associate of the Royal Canadian Academy.
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 Cowley Abbott auction house for permission to use.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Cowley Abbott auction house for permission to use.