Black Spruce Country
121.3 cms x 162.69 cms (47.75 ins x 64 ins)
Lot offered for sale by Sothebys, Toronto at the auction event "Important Canadian Art" held on Thu, May 26, 2011.
Lot 84
Lot 84
Estimate: CAD $30,000 - $50,000
Realised: CAD $106,000
Realised: CAD $106,000
Lot description - from the online catalogue*
Provenance:
Laing Galleries, Toronto
Private Collection, Ontario
Exhibitions:
XXIX Biennale Internazionale d'Arte di Venezia, 1958, no. 70
Notes:
Instead of following his contemporary colleagues, Riopelle, Borduas, and Ferron, in their use of the palette knife, de Tonnancour used a squeegee, a tool seldom, if ever, found in the studio, to lay in the backgrounds of his landscapes. Against this ground he flicked on the spruces and pines of the Laurentian hills and created enchanting works that were, in their way, as symbolic of Canada as the Group of Seven's earlier poetic renderings of the North.
De Tonnancour was chosen to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale in 1958, and this particular painting was was praised and admired there. It is one of the largest de Tonnancour's ever made in this style. Its apparently easy execution, its airy distribution of spaces, the sharp, clear light, and the illusion of depth that he has borrowed from conventional landscape painting, all contribute to give this picture the freshness and power that it obviously still has half a century after its creation.
Laing Galleries, Toronto
Private Collection, Ontario
Exhibitions:
XXIX Biennale Internazionale d'Arte di Venezia, 1958, no. 70
Notes:
Instead of following his contemporary colleagues, Riopelle, Borduas, and Ferron, in their use of the palette knife, de Tonnancour used a squeegee, a tool seldom, if ever, found in the studio, to lay in the backgrounds of his landscapes. Against this ground he flicked on the spruces and pines of the Laurentian hills and created enchanting works that were, in their way, as symbolic of Canada as the Group of Seven's earlier poetic renderings of the North.
De Tonnancour was chosen to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale in 1958, and this particular painting was was praised and admired there. It is one of the largest de Tonnancour's ever made in this style. Its apparently easy execution, its airy distribution of spaces, the sharp, clear light, and the illusion of depth that he has borrowed from conventional landscape painting, all contribute to give this picture the freshness and power that it obviously still has half a century after its creation.
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 Sothebys auction house for permission to use.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Sothebys auction house for permission to use.