A warm welcome to Eryn Brobyn as she joins the Cowley Abbott team!
Eryn holds a Masters degree in Art Gallery and Museum studies from the University of Leeds and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History with a minor in Studio Art from the University of Guelph. Upon graduating from the University of Guelph she was the recipient of the Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation Printmaking Award. While completing her Masters degree she worked at Harewood House in Yorkshire where she utilized her art historical knowledge and gained experience of museum procedures, public relations and client service and art handling skills in her role as Senior House Guide.
Eryn joins Cowley Abbott with eight years of commercial art world experience having spent the majority of her career working for a global auction house in London, UK. She has a comprehensive knowledge of the auction world having advanced through a number of roles to her current position as an Art Specialist. Initially specializing in prints and topographical pictures, these days she considers herself a generalist with specialist knowledge ranging from historical and contemporary Canadian to international works.
Eryn can be contacted directly by email at eryn@cowleyabbott.ca.
We are pleased to welcome Catherine Lacroix to the Cowley Abbott team!
After completing her undergraduate studies at Concordia University, Catherine received her Master’s in Art History from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where she specialized in Renaissance art. She then interned at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, researching European works within the permanent collection while providing administrative assistance.
Eager to further explore the commercial art world, Catherine undertook a short course at Christie’s in New York before moving to Vancouver to work at YKLM Auctions as part of the Canadian contemporary and Asian art departments. She contributed to establishing the reputation and increasing the visibility of this new auction house among local collectors and artists.
30 years in Calgary, 6 years in Vancouver and now, later this spring, here on the second floor at Cowley Abbott on Dundas St. in Toronto, Peter Ohler will have a new home to meet with clients and show a selection of Top Quality Canadian Art available for Private Sale. Please feel free to contact Peter at peter@cowleyabbott.ca for more details or drop in to view his recent acquisitions.
One of the recent
acquisitions that will be on display, a wonderful 1927 David Milne oil.
David Milne Under the Porch, Big Moose Lake, Adirondacks, N.Y. 13 September 1927 Oil on canvas 12×16 in.
Milne inventory #207.98
Provenance Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto c.1980 Private Collection Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, 1990 Private Collection
Exhibited Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Centenary Exhibition, 1982, no. 7
The verandah of the staff house at the Glenmore Hotel on Big
Moose Lake provided David Milne with a sheltered painting place on several
occasions. Under the Porch as well as The Glenmore, Big Moose, and
Hotel Across the Way were all painted from this location.
During the five years between the spring of 1924 and 1929,
Milne’s life was split between Big Moose Lake in the summers (where his time
was largely absorbed by building a teahouse) and Lake Placid in the winters
(where he and Patsy ran the teahouse at Ski-T, at the foot of the Intervale
ski-jump). The construction schedule at Big Moose Lake and the responsibilities
at the Lake Placid Club cut heavily into Milne’s painting time and, although he
produced some outstanding paintings, his overall production fell sharply.
David Milne Jr and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne,Catalogue
Raisonné of the Paintings, Toronto, 1998, cat. no. 207.98
Looking through the Prints, Photography and Multiples auction, we see excellent works by the masters of the 20th Century, including Picasso, Motherwell, Dali, Albers and Chagall. But there are two exceptionally rare prints that are wonderful examples of the difference between an etching and an engraving.
River Drifters (River Drivers) by Frank Weston Benson
The first is entitled Rivers Drifters (Drivers) by Frank Weston Benson, who was already an accomplished painter when he took up printmaking. Benson was a member of a group, who became known as The Ten American Painters. They were an exhibition group that included Impressionists, Tonalists and Figure painters, such as Childe Hassam and John Henry Twatchman. William Merritt Chase would join the group later upon the death of Twachtman. Benson was exhibiting with the group when he took up etching recreationally in the early part of the 20th Century. He would have great success exhibiting and selling his work in this medium. His usual subject matter of choice was wildlife or sporting subjects.
However, in River Drifters (Drivers) from 1914, no wildlife is present, instead he has focused attention on two loggers working along the Grand Lake Stream in Washington County. Especially wonderful is the small detail of the pipe in the standing figure’s mouth. This is a fantastic example of the etching technique, where the lines have been burned (etched) onto the plate using a chemical process, having been coated in a substance that is acid resistant called the etching ground. The image is then drawn through the ground to reveal the plate below, which is then bathed in acid etching the plate. When compared to etching, engraving is a much more physical process, where lines are carved into the plate using sharp tools producing a cleaner more pronounced line.
Three Girls on a Chicken (Sasowsky 214) by Reginald Marsh
Reginald Marsh studied under John Sloan at the Art Students League in New York. His subject matter were the people of New York, whether at play on Coney Island, dancing at a night club, riding the subway or just walking the street. Here is another American artist who took printmaking to a new level. Not only was he concerned with the finished product, but he was also obsessed with how he arrived there. Part of his process was making sure the temperature in his studio was just right for printmaking. Marsh was also aware of the age of the bath that his plates were soaked in, recording how long the paper soaked, observing the heating of the plate and the nature of the ink used in printing. Three Girls on a Chicken is from 1941, from an edition of approximately only twenty and is an extremely scarce engraving presenting Marsh at his finest.
Perry Tung viewing the offerings of this month’s online auction
Cowley Abbott is delighted to offer these rare works in our
Prints, Photography and Multiples Auction currently open for bidding until
April 19th.
Anna is a Senior Specialist of Canadian Art at Cowley
Abbott, having more than ten years of experience in the Canadian art world.
While continually remaining highly engaged with all aspects of art and culture,
Anna is passionate about absorbing as much as she can through exhibitions,
shows, talks, publications and more.
The Toronto arts scene is robust, having expanded and grown immensely over recent years. As one of the members of Cowley Abbott who was born and bred in Toronto, Anna, what have you noticed in terms of the arts and culture community in the city?
I grew up going to exhibitions and shows at the AGO, ROM,
TSO, National Ballet, etc. with my parents. I am thankful for those nostalgic
memories, as it fostered a steadfast interest and love for art and culture from
a young age. It is a wonderful sign of growth for the arts community of Toronto
to see new art galleries popping up and art institutions being founded. Private
galleries and auction houses, for example, are no longer primarily located in the
Yorkville area, but are now scattered throughout the city, signalling positive
expansion. The pandemic certainly changed how we interact with and appreciate
art exhibitions, creating exciting virtual opportunities (which Cowley Abbott
embraced), but it really is exhilarating to be back at our Canadian art and
cultural institutions in-person again. Attend an exhibition or show as soon as
you can!
Cowley Abbott now holds a twice-yearly Inuit and First Nations Auction, amongst the many other exciting auctions. This is an exciting venture and one that all of the team feel strongly about in terms of learning and respecting the artwork. You have a profound interest in historical Canadian art, but we hear you also enjoy studying Indigenous art?
I do indeed have a profound interest in historical Canadian
art – anything that I can sink my teeth into that affords me the chance for a
deep dive into research, but this also applies for Inuit and First Nations art.
I had the rare opportunity many years ago to work with and learn from a friend
with vast experience in Inuit art. (Actually, my entrance essay for the
Christie’s Master’s program explored the sculptural creations of the Inuit
artist, Manasie Akpaliapik.) As a result, I enjoy discovering new artists and
having the opportunity to handle Inuit artworks entrusted to CA for sale – the
tactile element is wonderful. With fantastic organizations like The Inuit Art
Foundation, which seeks to support Inuit artists through the beautiful Inuit
Art Quarterly (subscribe today!), as well the recent publications on Indigenous
and Inuit artists from the Art Canada Institute, we can learn more about this
beautiful and unique art form and the many talented artists. Make sure to visit
the AGO’s current exhibition, “Robert Houle: Red is Beautiful”, and read all
you can!
Anna
Holmes can be reached directly by e-mail at anna@cowleyabbott.ca. Stay
tuned for the next installment of “Introducing the Cowley Abbott Team” in
a week!
