Sold for: $61,250

PROVENANCE
Origine Beaux Arts Co., Montreal
Acquired from the above by a Private Collector, 1971
By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario

LITERATURE
Christopher Varley, F.H. Varley: A Centennial Exhibition, Edmonton Art Gallery, 1981, page 64

In the years after the First World War, Frederick Varley established himself in Toronto as a fine portrait painter, with commissions of well-known people such as Alice Massey. However, these commissions did not provide a stable income, plus Varley was reckless with money, and in 1922 the Varleys defaulted on their mortgage. In 1923, the family spent the summer camping on E.J. “Ned” Pratt’s property at Bobcaygeon, northeast of Toronto, until they were able to move to stable lodgings. By 1925, their situation settled, as Varley was appointed a teacher at the Ontario College of Art.

As well as producing formal portraits, Varley often painted his family, and Christopher Varley opined that “Varley’s best portraits were…of family and friends.” Mrs. Varley in Front of Her Tent is a superb example, with its warm and peaceful portrayal of Maud on a sun-drenched summer day. At her feet is the abstracted form of a child, possibly Peter Varley, who would have been four years old at the time. The painting is full of atmospheric effects, notably the gauzy curtain at the tent’s entrance billowing in the breeze, painted in classic Varley blue green. The artist’s colour palette is exquisite, ranging from pink and flesh tones to many hues of blue and green, and his depiction of light effects, such as the bright, reflective white of the tent canvas contrasted by its shadowed interior, is brilliant.

This work is #243 in the Varley Inventory listing, titled as Mrs. Varley in Front of Her Tent.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars