Hortense Mattice Gordon
Hortense Mattice Gordon
1887 - 1961
ARCA CSGA P11
Hortense Mattice Gordon drew avidly as a child and had decided to become an artist by the time she was 16. She set up a studio on a 200 acre fruit farm owned by relatives near Chatham, Ontario, where in addition to creating her own work, taking lessons from respected Canadian landscape painter Alexander M. Fleming, and painting and selling china, she took in pupils. She entered a landscape work in the Royal Canadian Academy competition in 1916 and it was promptly accepted. When shown, it impressed John S. Gordon, who was then Director of the Art Department of the Hamilton Technical Institute. He sought out Gordon and was able to offer her a post at the school when one opened in 1918, which she accepted. They would marry in 1920, and Gordon would continue to teach at the school until 1951, succeeding her husband as head of the Art Department from 1930.

In the summers they travelled to Paris, Amsterdam, and New York regularly, and were exposed to European avant-garde artists, in particular the Barbizon School, which had a decided influence on Gordon's own approach to aspects of her art. They set up a summer studio in Paris, and while there, she worked in an Impressionist manner for a time, then explored the ideals of Cubism. In Canada, she followed the activities of the Group of Seven and the burgeoning movements in Canadian Modernism.

Beginning in 1930, her work became decidedly abstract. She trained under Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann in Cape Cod, Provincetown in summer of 1946, along with Alexandra Luke; they were among the first Canadian artists to do so. She would return in 1949, 1952 and 1954. From him, she learned the importance of dynamism in abstract works, and his theories were critical to her art. Known for her bright, bold abstract paintings, Gordon became a founding member of the Painters Eleven group, and exhibited in their opening show at Roberts Gallery in 1954. This would bring Gordon wide acclaim; she would go on to show in New York and Toronto as a result. She died in Hamilton in 1961, and was given a memorial retrospective in 1963 at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
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Abstract by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $25,000
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Abstract
23 3/4 x 19 1/4 in, 60.3 x 48.9 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $25,000 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Wednesday, December 02, 2020
Nirvana by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $15,210
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Nirvana
30 x 25 in, 76.2 x 63.5 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $12,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $15,210 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2009 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 26, 2009
Studio Impressions by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $15,210
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Studio Impressions
30 x 22 in, 76.2 x 55.9 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $10,000 - $12,000 CDN
Sold for: $15,210 CDN (premium included)
March 2012 - 1st Session on Thursday, March 29, 2012
Venetian Canal by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $8,625
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Venetian Canal
28 x 16 in, 71.1 x 40.6 cm
circa 1960
oil on canvas
Estimate: $2,500 - $3,000 CDN
Sold for: $8,625 CDN (premium included)
May 2003 on Saturday, May 31, 2003
Abstract by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $4,973
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Abstract
15 1/2 x 15 1/2 in, 39.4 x 39.4 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000 CDN
Sold for: $4,973 CDN (premium included)
September 2009 - 4th Session on Thursday, September 24, 2009
Abstract by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $4,688
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Abstract
16 x 20 in, 40.6 x 50.8 cm
circa 1947
oil on board
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000 CDN
Sold for: $4,688 CDN (premium included)
Post-War & Contemporary Art on Thursday, August 31, 2023
Abstract by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $3,540
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Abstract
26 1/2 x 18 1/2 in, 67.3 x 47 cm
oil on burlap
Estimate: $3,000 - $4,000 CDN
Sold for: $3,540 CDN (premium included)
March 2016 - 1st session on Thursday, March 31, 2016
Animation by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $3,540
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Animation
18 x 15 in, 45.7 x 38.1 cm
oil on canvas board
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000 CDN
Sold for: $3,540 CDN (premium included)
November 2015 - 6th Session on Saturday, November 28, 2015
Untitled by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $3,540
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Untitled
23 x 18 in, 58.4 x 45.7 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000 CDN
Sold for: $3,540 CDN (premium included)
March 2016 - 1st session on Thursday, March 31, 2016
Steel City by Hortense Mattice Gordon sold for $3,245
Hortense Mattice Gordon
Steel City
6 1/8 x 8 in, 15.6 x 20.3 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000 CDN
Sold for: $3,245 CDN (premium included)
May 2016 - 6th Session on Saturday, May 28, 2016