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LOT 113

BCSFA CGP
1871 - 1945
Canadian

Pemberton
oil on paper on board, circa 1933
signed with the estate stamp and on verso inscribed variously
24 x 28 3/4 in, 61 x 73 cm

Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000 CAD

Sold for: $229,250

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
A wedding gift to a Private Collection, Montreal, circa 1946
By descent to the present Private Estate, Montreal

LITERATURE
Maria Tippett, Emily Carr: A Biography, 1979, page 223
John O’Brian and David Alexander, Gasoline, Oil, and Paper: The 1930s Oil-on-Paper Paintings of Emily Carr, Mendel Art Gallery, 1995, page 11


In June 1933, Emily Carr visited her niece Lillian Rae in Brackendale, near Squamish, British Columbia. From there she traveled to Lillooet, followed by Seton and Anderson Lakes, then south back to Pemberton. It is likely this painting is from that trip. Carr was inspired by the ranges of the Coast Mountains she saw there and wrote in her journal, “Oh, you mountains, I am at your feet – humble, pleading! Speak to me in your wordless words! I claim my brotherhood to you. We are of the same substance for there is only one substance.”

Here we see the “one continuous movement,” as Carr described it, that she depicted in her inner forest paintings, as her brush-strokes emphasize the rhythm flowing through the landscape. This expression of energy was facilitated by her new medium of oil on paper. The addition of turpentine or gasoline to oil paint preserved a richness of pigment while making the paint fluid, like watercolour, and Carr could apply long strokes of paint using sweeping arm movements. Carr varies her paint application from light and transparent to thick and opaque, using various densities of cobalt, gold, green and chocolate brown. This sublime Carr landscape culminates in a radiant aura in the sky, transmitting her perception of the spiritual in nature.


Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.