"African Head" (The Zulu Maiden), 1952

Provenance:
Collection of the late John Hammell, "Edgemere", Oakville, Ontario from whom purchased from Eaton's College Street, The Fine Art Galleries during the September 1954 exhibition of the artist's works while he was visiting Toronto;

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Purchased from the Estate of John Hammell by Mr. Alfred S. Creighton, Toronto, from Eaton's College Street, The Fine art Galleries, Toronto, on August 13, 1965, who handled the Estate, Consignment No. 1073;

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With the Cooling Galleries, London & Toronto as "African Head";

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Private Collection, Toronto

Exhibitions:
In September 1954 Tretchikoff arrived in Toronto and held a show at Eaton's art gallery. Gorelik writes of Tretchikoff's arrival in Toronto, "In Canada, he [Tretchikoff] found an even keener audience. They came in great numbers. [...] Tretchikoff mounted his show at 'Canada's Greatest Store' in [sic] Yonge Street, where Eaton's buildings took up several blocks. He was given space on the seventh floor, next to the 1,300-seat auditorium." Gorelik continues that newspaper articles and ads for the Tretchikoff show heralded the artist as a celebrity and the exhibition as being of such "[...] unprecedented importance that Eaton's is using its immense Seventh Floor Auditorium foyer [...] in order to do justice to the canvasses and accommodate the crowds."

Literature:
"The Zulu Maiden" in Howard Timmins, Tretchikoff, Howard Timmins/New York Graphic Society Ltd., New York, NY, 1969, unpaginated

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Boris Gorelik, Incredible Tretchikoff: Life of an Artist and Adventurer, 2013, pages 145-6
Notes:
Mr. John (Jack) Hammell was a mining magnate who pioneered the large-scale mining exploration of Canada's north. Canadian Airlines is a direct descendant of Hammell's fleet of airplanes.