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LOT 040

AANFM ARCA OC QMG
1928 - 2021
Canadian

Terme de la nuit
oil on canvas
signed and dated 1960 and on verso signed, titled, dated and inscribed "4371 Harvard, Mtl."
57 1/4 x 26 1/4 in, 145.4 x 66.7 cm

Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000 CAD

Sold for: $289,250

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
Waddington & Gorce Inc., Montreal
Private Collection, Montreal

LITERATURE
Guy Robert, “Le peintre Rita Letendre,” Vie des arts, no. 27, Summer 1962, reproduced page 47
“Rita Letendre, In Her Own Words,” AGOinsider, Art Gallery of Ontario, June 26, 2017, https://ago.ca/agoinsider/rita-letendre-her-own-words, accessed January 1, 2021


Rita Letendre’s career arose in Montreal, under the influence of Paul-Émile Borduas and the Automatist movement. As she stated in the AGOinsider, “My thoughts, my attitudes are automatist, which means that I have no set formula. My paintings are completely emotional, full of hair-trigger intensity. Through them, I challenge space and time. I paint freedom, escape from the here and now, from the mundane…The world isn’t only what we see or what we experience.”

In Terme de la nuit (End of the Night), a vertical string of white shapes moves upwards over the black, creating a strong vibration. Her knife lays down paint in a gestural, expressionist style that is bold and full of feeling. As Letendre reflected, “Light and colour, and sometimes the absence of colour, have always been the key elements in my painting. With its different values, colour reflects the shades of life. But light, from the first shock of birth to the last breath of life – light is life.” Terme de la nuit, with its brilliant splashes of white, brings light into the darkness, and it is an exceptionally vibrant work from 1960.


Estimate: $50,000 - $70,000 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.