Please note our offices will be closed from Friday March 29 through Monday April 1 for Easter. Local pick-ups will start on Tuesday April 2.
ONLINE AUCTION
Alex Colville: Prints & Process
5th session

November 03 - November 26, 2022

LOT DETAILS
         
         
         
         

This session is closed for bidding.
Bidding History
Paddle # Date Amount

There are currently no bids for this lot
The bidding history list updated on: Friday, March 29, 2024 01:12:50

LOT 603

PC CC
1920 - 2013
Canadian

Italian Cruiser in Naples Harbour
watercolour on paper
signed, dated 10 Aug 1944 and inscribed "Naples" and on verso signed, titled and dated
10 x 22 1/2 in, 25.4 x 57.2 cm

Estimate: $20,000 - $25,000 CAD

Preview at:

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Ontario

LITERATURE
Tom Smart, Alex Colville: Return, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 2003, page 34


“In artistic terms, existentialism sees art as an attempt to give the world the coherence, order and unity it lacks, and Colville was drawn to this structure.”

- Tom Smart, Alex Colville: Return

The works produced during Alex Colville’s time as an official war artist during World War II are an important means by which to better understand the artist and an essential element of his work in many ways. First of all, they are irreplaceable historical documents, rendered in detailed sensitivity, depicting varied facets of war-time existence, from the calm to the profoundly traumatic. Examples such as Italian Cruiser in Naples Harbour also display the exacting finesse that would become a central hallmark of his distinctive style. Existentially, too, Colville’s experiences as a war artist produced an extremely acute inflection point in his philosophical world-view. As many artists and writers of his generation, it would lead Colville on a lifelong search for how humanity could rediscover the connections with nature, society, and our own selves that were lost in the harrowing destructions of that period.


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.