AANFM RCA
1923 - 1999
Canadian
Peinture rouge
oil on canvas
signed faintly and on verso signed, titled, dated 1963 and stamped faintly with the artist's stamp
30 x 30 in, 76.2 x 76.2 cm
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000 CAD
Sold for: $49,250
Preview at:
PROVENANCE
Galerie Agnès Lefort, Montreal
An Important Collection, Montreal, circa 1963
By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver
LITERATURE
Fernande Saint-Martin, McEwen, 1953 – 73, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 1973, unpaginated
Jean Albert McEwen is a unique figure in the history of abstraction in Canada. Largely self-taught, he admired both Paul-Émile Borduas and the American abstractionist Sam Francis. Unlike them, however, he found a painting style that did not rely on the play between figure and ground. A member of both the Automatists and the Non-Figurative Artists’ Association of Montreal, McEwen made work that relied on a deep understanding of colour. The curator and art historian Fernande Saint-Martin has aptly described his work as “the exploration of the dynamic possibilities of colour.” The layers of pigment that animate the surface of Peinture rouge suggest the deep exploration McEwen has made of his materials. The black stripe in the middle of the composition provides rest to the eye from the lava-like flow of the red pigment that covers the whole surface. There is no need for illusion because the rich variety of reds animates the surface completely and speaks of both the power of colour and the uniqueness of McEwen’s vision.
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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