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LOT 002

CAS CGP CSGA CSPWC EGP OC OSA PY RCA
1904 - 1974
Canadian

Still Life with Pears
oil on board, 1963
signed and on verso titled on the gallery label
47 3/4 x 59 1/4 in, 121.3 x 150.5 cm

Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CAD

Sold for: $28,125

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
Roberts Gallery, Toronto
Acquired from the above by a Private Collection, Florida, 1964
By descent to an Important Private Collection, California

LITERATURE
Sandra Paikowsky, Goodridge Roberts, 1904 – 1974, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1998, page 192

EXHIBITED
Beaverbrook Art Gallery, New Brunswick, long-term loan


There were three themes in Goodridge Roberts’s oeuvre – landscapes, figurative works and still lifes. Roberts had studied still life painting with Max Weber in New York, and after his return to Montreal, he pursued the subject throughout his life. This lush painting, with various fruits artfully piled and displayed in bowls and plates, and casually placed on a book, is gorgeous. The elements of the still life are displayed on the tilted tabletop, creating interesting perspectives, and are connected by the patterned tablecloth that extends off the table’s edge.

The literary critic Desmond Pacey wrote, “In apparently random collections of objects, Roberts has managed to find a formality, an elegance that somehow transfigures them…In fact one begins to wonder whether Roberts’ real genius, his own particular vision, does not express itself more fully and naturally in these still lifes than in his...landscapes.” The lively hues of the objects are set off against a colour-field background in pale and darker grey, painted in a loose, expressionist style that creates restless surface tensions. In the tranquility of his studio, Roberts takes pleasure in the everyday simplicity of fruit, flowers and books, and Still Life with Pears manifests his rich and poetic viewpoint.


Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 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.