Clotho II
76.2 cms x 170.8 cms (30 ins x 67.25 ins)
On verso titled and dated 1971 on the gallery label
made in 1971
Lot offered for sale by Heffel, Vancouver at the auction event "Fall 2020 Live auction" held on Wed, Dec 2, 2020.
Lot 014
Lot 014
Estimate: CAD $20,000 - $30,000
Realised: CAD $52,250
Realised: CAD $52,250
Lot description - from the online catalogue*
Provenance:
J.L. Hudson Contemporary Art Gallery, Detroit
Private Collection, Toronto
Notes:
Clotho II is a vivid example of the large-scale works Norman Bluhm began exhibiting in the 1970s. In this painting we encounter “Rubenesque” swelling forms, with swathes of pink and purple, underscored by yellow and lavender hues. Bluhm drew on a variety of art-historical references, from Asian manuscripts and stained glass to Greek legend. Clotho was one of the Three Fates or Moirai in Greek mythology. She was the one who spun the thread of the lives of mortals, deciding birth and death. Here, the power of the female muse reigns, culminating in the energy this painting radiates.
Bluhm was a part of what has been labeled the second generation of Abstract Expressionist painters. He was an architectural student of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Armour Institute of Technology in Illinois. In 1941, he joined the US Army Air Forces, became a B-26 pilot and flew dozens of missions for the Allied effort. After the war, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His work resides in several public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
This work will be included in the forthcoming Norman Bluhm catalogue raisonné.
Please note: this work is comprised of three sheets of paper. Each sheet measures 30 x 22 3/8 inches.
J.L. Hudson Contemporary Art Gallery, Detroit
Private Collection, Toronto
Notes:
Clotho II is a vivid example of the large-scale works Norman Bluhm began exhibiting in the 1970s. In this painting we encounter “Rubenesque” swelling forms, with swathes of pink and purple, underscored by yellow and lavender hues. Bluhm drew on a variety of art-historical references, from Asian manuscripts and stained glass to Greek legend. Clotho was one of the Three Fates or Moirai in Greek mythology. She was the one who spun the thread of the lives of mortals, deciding birth and death. Here, the power of the female muse reigns, culminating in the energy this painting radiates.
Bluhm was a part of what has been labeled the second generation of Abstract Expressionist painters. He was an architectural student of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Armour Institute of Technology in Illinois. In 1941, he joined the US Army Air Forces, became a B-26 pilot and flew dozens of missions for the Allied effort. After the war, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His work resides in several public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
This work will be included in the forthcoming Norman Bluhm catalogue raisonné.
Please note: this work is comprised of three sheets of paper. Each sheet measures 30 x 22 3/8 inches.
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.