CPE
1898 - 1992
Canadian
Theatre
linocut in 3 colours, 1929
signed, editioned 7/50 and inscribed "42" in the margin
10 7/8 x 8 1/4 in, 27.6 x 21 cm
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CAD
Sold for: $20,000
Preview at:
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Ontario
Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 27, 2015, lot 107
Private Collection, Toronto
LITERATURE
Peter White, Sybil Andrews, Glenbow Museum, 1982, reproduced page 50
Stephen Coppel, Linocuts of the Machine Age, 1995, reproduced page 106, catalogue #SA 2
Gordon Samuel and Nicola Penny, The Cutting Edge of Modernity: Linocuts of the Grosvenor School, 2002, reproduced page 27
Clifford S. Ackley, editor, Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints 1914 - 1939, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2008, reproduced page 151
Hana Leaper, Sybil Andrews Linocuts: A Complete Catalogue Raisonné, 2015, reproduced page 49
Janet Nicol, On the Curve: The Life and Art of Sybil Andrews, 2019, reproduced page 43
EXHIBITED
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Sybil Andrews, September 14 - October 22, 1982, same image, catalogue #2
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Rhythms of Modern Life: British Prints 1914 - 1939, January 3 - June 1, 2008, traveling to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2008, same image, catalogue #84
In England’s post-World War I era, the pursuit of leisure was on the rise, and concert halls and cabarets were filled with people from all walks of life. The Grosvenor School of printmakers, of which Sybil Andrews was a part, took great interest in this. As with other subjects, dynamism attracted them, and in Theatre, Andrews simplified the ornate interior of London’s Old Vic theatre to its most dominant planes, transforming it to a sleek, Art Deco style. Further, by emphasizing the curves of the support pillars and tiers of balconies, Andrews created a sense of sweeping movement. Theatre attendees are represented by their abstracted heads in repeated patterning - stylized archetypes rather than individuals. A fine modernist image by Andrews, this rare early print was produced in a smaller number than intended. As Stephen Coppel relates, “Only impressions numbered 1/50 to 24/50 were made because the blocks partially melted in 1947.” This refers to an event that occurred when Andrews traveled by ship to Canada, when the linoleum blocks for several of her prints melted in the ship's hold where they were stored.
This is a fine impression with strong colours on buff oriental laid tissue.
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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