We are pleased to present an excellent selection of Canadian Art in our October sale. Marc -Aurele de Foy Suzor-Cote was a painter, sculptor and church decorator from Quebec. Influenced by French painters such as Jean Francois Millet, Cote took many trips to France, where he took lessons at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and began, after spending the beginning of his career creating intricate decorations in churches in the Arthabaska region of Quebec, to sketch the countryside “en plein air”. He became known for his landscapes of the thawing winter rivers of Arthabaska, as well as portraits, history and the female nude. Another favourite subject was the daily life of early 20th century farmers and villagers. He was commissioned to paint Sir Wilfred Laurier’s portrait in 1909, and was the recipient of many awards and distinctions, including the bronze medal from the Paris World Fair in 1900. Our oil on board of “Winter Sunset” from the Shiksok Mountains in Gaspe is a fine example of one of his favourite subjects, the beauty of a winter landscape in his beloved Quebec.
Mary Dignam was born in Port Burwell, Ontario in 1860. Like Cote, and many other artists of this time, she travelled abroad looking to continue her art education. After stints in Paris, England, Holland and Italy, she returned home in 1891, where she established and taught at the Art Studios of Moulton Ladies’ College at McMaster University. Dignam held strong and, for the time, quite revolutionary views concerning women and their place in the male dominated art world of the 19th and 20th century. She founded the Women’s Art Association of Canada, which was the first professional organization of Canadian women artists. Despite her progressive views, her art tended to focus on the conventional, such as floral studies and landscapes.
In contrast to Dignam and Suzor-Cote, we have several works by the contemporary Indigenous Canadian artist Jane Ash Poitras. After a Roman Catholic upbringing, Poitras began to explore her Chipewyan roots as a young adult. After completing a degree in microbiology, she continued on to postgraduate studies in printmaking at Columbia University, where she was exposed to and influenced by the genre breaking work of artists such as Mark Rothko and Cy Twombly.Her hallmark technique of combining different ideas, images and materials into dramatic and brightly coloured works, provide a visual commentary on the role of settler society as it influenced indigenous culture.
It’s always fascinating to see how domestic life was experienced in the near past – from depression era to mid century, artifacts from this time are powerful, often nostalgic reminders of how day to day life was lived not so long ago. Our selection of vintage kitchenware is sure to evoke memories of a simpler era. We have ribbed glass shakers and jars that would have sat in one of the old hoosier cupboards that were central to so many kitchens in the early to middle part of the last century. Our jadeite grease jars with the original aluminum tulip lids are a particularly rare find. FireKing, the producer of many of these items, first started manufacturing in the 40’s, using a tempered glass similar to Pyrex and ideal for ovenware. Functional, and the workhorse of the mid century kitchen, they were often distributed in bags of flour, or given away at gas stations.. Our set of antique Spode dinnerware, is in a timeless cobalt and gold rimmed pattern that would be at home on the most contemporary of dinner tables, along with a large selection of Boda stemware, from the famed Swedish glass maker, before it merged with Kosta and Afors in the 70’s to form the company Kosta Boda. Vintage bread boxes, picnic baskets, dough bowls, MCM cocktail glasses and more, round out our kitchen and home theme.
We were fortunate to receive the consignment from an estate that belonged to a gentleman who was both a dentist and a collector. Along with a large variety of antique tabletop and floor model display cases and sterilizer cabinets, we have a vintage dentist’s cabinet, a cast iron foot pedal dentist’s drill, as well as a selection of the weird and wonderful, such as antique fillings in their original case, scientifically accurate models of teeth and a number of dentist’s tools, whose purpose we don’t even want to speculate on! An interesting juxtaposition to this collection is their assortment of antique scent bottles, many rare, as well as paperweights, including signed Murano and Steuben, miniature dolls and doll furniture, and a nice variety of antique advertising displays.
As always, this is just a small sampling of some of the highlights from our current auction. Please come to preview in person. You are sure to discover some unexpected treasures!
Call John at 416 453 0920 to set up an appointment.
