Robert Samuel Alexander (1840-1923) - Portrait of W.P. Weston

Portrait of W.P. Weston

oil on canvas
76.2 cms x 61 cms (30 ins x 24 ins)
Signed and dated 1964
made in 1964
Lot offered for sale by Heffel, Vancouver at the auction event "Back to School: Vancouver School of Art (1st session)" held on Thu, Sep 28, 2023.
Lot 001
Realised: CAD $250

Lot description - from the online catalogue*

Provenance:
Collection of W.P. Weston, Vancouver

By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia
Notes:
Robert Samuel Alexander graduated from the Vancouver School of Art in 1947. A member of the B.C. Society of Fine Arts and the Royal Canadian Academy, he was commissioned to paint several important mural commissions around Vancouver. Also a portrait specialist, this is one of two portraits Alexander painted of W.P. Weston. At the time of the sitting, Weston would have been considered a towering figure in the Vancouver art community.

W.P. Weston was an important early figure in sowing the seeds for Vancouver’s art scene. Having arrived in Vancouver in 1909 from of London, England, Weston was fascinated with the power of the local landscape. While never officially a staff member of the Vancouver School of Design and Decorative Art, Weston was a leading figure in art education in Vancouver before the establishment of the VSDAA, and had professional and social ties with members of the school. He gave a lecture titled The Place of Art in Education as early as 1917 at the Vancouver Institute, and held the position of Art Master at King Edward High School from 1914 until 1946. In 1925 he, along with VSDAA director Charles H. Scott and Spencer Percival Judge, published the Manual of Drawing and Design for Vancouver's Elementary and High Schools curriculums.
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.
Portrait of W.P. Weston by artist Robert Samuel Alexander