Sold for: $21,250

PROVENANCE
Roberts Gallery, Toronto
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wait, Toronto
Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Joyce Zemans, Jock Macdonald: The Inner Landscape, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1981, reproduced page 199 and listed page 285

EXHIBITED
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Jock Macdonald: The Inner Landscape - A Retrospective Exhibition, April 4 - May 17, 1981, traveling to the Art Gallery of Windsor, June 20 - August 16, 1981; The Edmonton Art Gallery, September 19 - November 8, 1981; The Winnipeg Art Gallery, November 28, 1981 - January 17, 1982; Vancouver Art Gallery, February - March, 1982, catalogue #105

Jock Macdonald became a senior member of Toronto’s abstractionist group Painters 11 in 1954. Buoyed by the group's productive discussions around abstract painting, Macdonald took the opportunity to experiment with his use of oil as a medium. In 1955, Macdonald met the painter Jean Dubuffet while on a trip to France. Dubuffet suggested Macdonald begin adding linseed oil and turpentine to his paint to encourage the long, pliable brush strokes he was after. A year later, after Macdonald’s return to Toronto, he began to use Duco - an industrial enamel popularized by Jackson Pollock that allowed the paint to become fluid and fast-drying. The techniques unlocked by these properties proved revolutionary for Macdonald. The final breakthrough was after Harold Town introduced Macdonald to Lucite 44, an acrylic medium that could be mixed with oil that allowed it the fluency and softness of watercolours. When the American critic Clement Greenberg visited the Painters 11 in 1957, he declared Macdonald’s paintings from this time as comparable to anything in New York - a compliment that proved hugely encouraging to the painter.

Phantom Land was produced in this flurry of progress that defined Macdonald’s Non-Objective period. Rather than the deep pictorial surfaces of his earlier landscapes, here Macdonald fluidly balances floating planes of cooler colour against darker, saturated hues. The central vertical forms, rendered in a soft haze, seem to recall something floral; while the airy blue-greens and mineral pinks of the further field provides a delicately landscaped backdrop. Gestures of darker pigment dissolve everything together in a coherent and powerful spatial arrangement. Free, loose, and painterly, Phantom Land showcases Macdonald at the height of his mature career.

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.