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Marcelle Ferron is remembered as a painter, stained-glass designer, and the creator of important public art. Large, vibrant, and dynamic, “Sans titre” is indeed irrepressible. The bold forms move to their own rhythms, which the Cowley Abbott specialists deeply admire. This work has a notable pedigree. It was one of the original paintings commissioned in 1960 for what became The Peter Stuyvesant Collection, a large body of cutting-edge abstract art formed in the Netherlands by Alexander Orlow. This monumental canvas by Ferron will be offered for sale in our exciting two-session live auction on December 1st. https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW42104

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Rob Cowley discusses “Lake Superior-Pic Island” by celebrated Group of Seven artist, Arthur Lismer. Join Rob as he chats about this stunning depiction of a favourite locale by members of the Group. This painting is featured in the Auction of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art, the second session of the December 1st, 2022 Cowley Abbott Fall Live Auction. You can view details of Arthur Lismer’s “Lake Superior-Pic Island” at this link: https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW41543

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Lydia Abbott discusses “Neige, Canada (Snow, Canada)” by James Wilson Morrice, a canvas which was first exhibited by the artist more than a century ago. Join Lydia as she chats about the rare Canadian canvas, making its auction debut with Cowley Abbott this fall. This painting is featured in the Auction of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art, the second session of the December 1st, 2022 Cowley Abbott Fall Live Auction. You can view details of J.W. Morrice’s “Neige, Canada (Snow, Canada)” at this link: https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW41523

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Join Lydia Abbott as she discusses “Drying Herring Roe”, a monumental 1938 canvas by the celebrated Jock Macdonald. The painting is featured in the Cowley Abbott Auction of Artwork from an Important Private Collection on December 1st, 2022. Further details related to the artwork can be found here: https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW41537

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Join Rob Cowley as he discusses “Thunderstorm”, a significant oil painting from early in the long artistic career of A.J. Casson, youngest member of the Group of Seven. The painting is featured in the Cowley Abbott Auction of Artwork from an Important Private Collection on December 1st, 2022. Further details related to the artwork can be found here: https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW41526


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Lydia Abbott discusses Young Cedars, a captivating 1919 canvas by Canadian master, David Milne. This painting is featured in the Auction of An Important Private Collection of Canadian Art, the second session of the December 1st, 2022 Cowley Abbott Fall Live Auction. Further details related to the artwork can be found here: https://cowleyabbott.ca/artwork/AW41951h

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It is our privilege to introduce to the auction market an Important Private Collection of Canadian Art, a selection of rare and remarkable historical artwork, most of which is making its auction debut with Cowley Abbott this fall, part of a two-session live auction event. December will mark the first of three seasons of offerings from this collection.

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Accessible Art in August!

Katherine has highlighted a selection of both accessible and interesting works.

The August online auctions are full of great opportunities for the emerging art collector. Historical and contemporary paintings, photographs, drawings, sculptures and a variety of prints are divided among four sessions.

Caroline Armington
Le Pont Neuf, Paris
Frank Armington
The Old Quarter in Stockholm
Caroline Armington
Le Pont Saint Michel à Paris
Frank Armington
Alte Hanser an der Pegnitz, Nuremberg

The first session, Canadians at Home & Abroad includes the work of the Canadian artist couple Frank and Caroline Armington. The couple met in Ontario but spent over thirty years living together in Paris and travelling throughout Europe. A number of pieces documenting their life abroad are featured in the auction, such as Frank Armington’s The Old Quarter in Stockholm (lot 17) and Halte Hanser an der Pegnitz, Nuremberg (lot 18), and Caroline Armington’s two depictions of Parisian Bridges: Le Pont Saint-Michel à Paris (lot 19) and Le Pont Neuf, Paris (lot 20).

Jack Chambers
Sunday Morning No. 2
Laurent Guérin
Guards

In the Prints & Works on Paper session, lot 104 is a timeless tranquil interior scene by Jack Chambers, executed in a photo-realist lithograph print. A large and nicely framed image entitled Guards, by contemporary photographer Laurent Guérin is a great find for a modern space, and appeals especially to dog-loving art collectors.

Richard Robertson
Hanging Shirt
Richard Robertson
Hallway
Rita Letendre
Silent Echo II

Two delicate pencil drawings by Richard Robertson, lots 122 and 123, are a calming duo to hang up in a home. Lot 129 is one of L.L. Fitzgerald’s famous negative image architectural linocuts, which dates to 1938 but has a timeless feel. For a bold abstract option, Rita Letendre’s Silent Echo II has a strong energy and cool retro colour palette of brown and black.

Hugh Mackenzie
Seated Nude
Molly Lamb Bobak
Cosmos

In the Still Life and Figural Work session, lot 193, Seated Nude by Hugh Mackenzie, is a fine ink drawing with an eye-catching circular format. It is another example of a timeless image, despite it being dated 1968 by the artist. The renowned and talented Molly Lamb Bobak, who is known for her floral watercolour paintings, depicts cosmos so delicately that they appear to be floating (lot 203, Cosmos).

Jean-Louis Forain
The Dancer

French impressionist and protegé of Edgar Degas, painter Jean-Louis Forain’s Dancer in soft pastels is a lovely work and great opportunity, estimated at $600-800.

Barbara Mercer
Birthday Love Songs
Barbara Mercer
Cat Dreams No.1

The final session, The Estate of Barbara Mercer, offers some colourful and whimsical works such as lot 263 Birthday Love Songs and lot 268 Cat. There is truly something for everyone in this month’s auction, and at very accessible price points. We invite you to browse through the full catalogue of 276 works and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, at [email protected]. The auctions close on August 23.

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Perry, our International Art specialist, highlights a selection of outstanding artworks included in the current Spring Auction of International Art. Take a moment to learn about these fantastic artworks. Bidding closes on June 28th!

Tobias Edward Rosenthal
The Young Craftsman

Painted the year the artist died, “The Young Craftsmen” echoes one of Rosenthal’s best known paintings, “His Madonna”, which was painted the previous year. The similarities seem endless from the likeness of the young boy working in his white shirt with a red handkerchief stuffed into his blue apron to his wooden workbench with his carving tools splayed in front of him and wood shavings littering the floor. However, where “His Madonna” positions the viewer at a more distanced vantage point, “The Young Craftsmen” creates a more intimate portrait of the young subject by bringing the viewer in closer to the scene. The boy’s face is turned slightly toward the viewer which invites us into a more personal connection to the sitter.

Joan MiróSoleil ebouillanté (Dupin 518)

“The spectacle of the sky overwhelms me. I’m overwhelmed when I see, in an immense sky, the crescent of the moon, or the sun. There, in my pictures, tiny forms in huge empty spaces. Empty spaces, empty horizons, empty plains – everything which is bare has always greatly impressed me.” -Joan Miró

Vincenzo Amato
Two Abstract Sculptures

Vincenzo Amato was born in Palermo, Italy in 1966; he is primarily known as an actor appearing in numerous films and tv shows. Early in his artistic career he had a couple of exhibitions at gallery Il Gabbiano in Rome. In the early 1990s he arrived in New York for a wedding and never left, continuing to pursue a career as an actor and sculptor, exhibiting his work at the Earl MacGrath Gallery.

Eduardo Kingman
Figura

In 1935 Kingman submitted a controversial work to Ecuador’s esteemed Mariano Aguilera Prize. It caused outcry among the conservative jury and was rejected from the competition. However, the following year Kingman’s peers championed him and the same work won first prize in the same competition. The moment lead to Indigenism being adopted as the dominant artistic style in Ecuador. In the 1930s Kingman painted indigenous workers in a monumental style that emphasized their human suffering. After World War II, he expanded his themes to include all human deprivation to capture the universal humanity of his subjects.“Figura” depicts a lone woman, with her head resting in her hands. The artist forms a triangular composition that leads the eye upwards towards the subject’s half obscured face. The oversized cupped hands magnify her despair with every etched line. The worn, crimson knuckles emphasize her suffering. Kingman was known for his exaggerated, expressive style, which we see here in this lovely example of his work.

John Risley
Woman and Man Bench

A wonderful bench by John Risley, an American designer and craftsman. Risley studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Cranbook Academy of Art in Michigan, before moving to the Philippines and later to Taiwan to work for the state department, absorbing influences from those cultures in his work. Risley produced these benches as a series, some executed in red and some in black. The idea was to make these art objects both functional and decorative.

Paolo (Paul) Troubetzkoy
Maternal Embrace

A member of the ancient house of Troubetzkoy by birth, Prince Paolo (Paul) Troubetzky was the son of a Russian diplomat and American singer Ada Winans. Largely self-taught he did come under the influence of Guiseppe Grandi, an avant-garde sculptor who was associated with the Scapigliatura movement. Troubetzkoy was a passionate animal activist and vegetarian, keeping a menagerie of animals in his studio, which became the subjects of some of his sculptures. He moved in the gilded age circles of the day, sculpting portraits of the rich and famous. In “Maternal Embrace”, the subtle play of light across the deep modeling of the figures as they emerge from the folds of the dress, captures a tender moment between a mother and her child. The plaster for this work dates from 1898 and is housed in the collection of the Museo Del Paesaggio, Verbania.

The Spring Auction of International Art closes for bidding on Tuesday, June 28th. Find more information about the artworks included in the auction here: https://cowleyabbott.ca/items/1178 and contact our Perry for more information at [email protected]