PROVENANCE
A gift from the Artist to Oscar Erickson, Vancouver
By descent to the family of Arthur Erickson, Vancouver
Canadian Post-War & Contemporary Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 17, 2011, lot 1
The Collection of Torben V. Kristiansen, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Doreen E. Walker, B.C. Binning: A Classical Spirit, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1986, the 1948 oil on board entitled Four Ships in Variable Weather reproduced catalogue #1, unpaginated
Abraham J. Rogatnick et al., B.C. Binning, 2006, page 126

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, B.C. Binning painted a group of works based on the sea and ships. Binning sailed his boat up Indian Arm just after the war and discovered a number of World War II ships tied up in one of the coves there. Their large hulls towering above his small boat made an indelible impression on him—he found their presence regal as they floated motionless on the calm water. This elegant yet playful painting contains this important motif of towering hulls, along with other nautical details such as rigging and pennants. Although formal and architectural in its arrangement of elements, Four Ships in Variable Weather No. 1 possesses a spirit of joy that is unmistakable amid the formality of the work. Binning wrote affectionately of the boats that were such important motifs in his work: “They can be lyric, no doubt about that, grand and elegant with dignity and power, or jolly and happy for joy. They abstract well.”

This work was originally a gift from the artist to Oscar Erickson, the father of renowned architect Arthur Erickson. Both men were Binning’s friends, thus they had access to Binning’s best works.

For the biography on Torben V. Kristiansen in PDF format, please click here.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars