Frederick Horsman Varley
Frederick Horsman Varley
1881 - 1969
ARCA G7 OSA
Varley was born in England in 1881, and went to the Sheffield School of Art. From 1900 to 1902 he attended the Académie royale des beaux-arts in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1912, Varley moved to Canada, settling in Toronto, where he worked for the commercial art firms Grip Ltd. and Rous & Mann. A member of the Group of Seven, he had met fellow Group artists at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto. In 1914 he joined Tom Thomson for a sketching trip to Algonquin Park with A.Y. Jackson and Arthur Lismer.

In 1918 Varley was commissioned to paint for the Canadian War Records, traveling to England and France. In 1920 he returned to Canada and exhibited in the first Group of Seven show. The summer of that year he painted at Georgian Bay in northern Ontario. Varley exhibited work at the influential Wembley Show in England in 1924.

From 1925 to 1926 he taught at the Ontario College of Art, then in 1926 moved to Vancouver to teach at the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts. He lived near Jericho Beach and, inspired by the lush landscape, painted in the North Shore mountains and along the Fraser River. He also traveled to Garibaldi Park to paint in 1927, 1929, 1932 and 1934. Varley was also a perceptive figurative painter, most notably of his muse Vera Weatherbie, and also did portrait commissions. In 1933, Varley resigned from the Vancouver School of Art and founded the British Columbia College of Arts with Jock Macdonald. In 1934 Varley moved to Lynn Valley in North Vancouver, painting many fine landscapes of the area. The closure of the College in 1935 made Varley look east again.

In 1936 Varley moved to Ottawa to teach at the Ottawa Art Association, and exhibited in the Group of Seven show at the National Gallery that year. In 1938 his work was exhibited at the Tate Gallery in London, and that summer he went on a painting trip to the Arctic on the government supply ship Nascopie. After leaving his position at the Ottawa Art Association in 1939, he moved to Montreal in 1940. The year 1943 saw him back in Ottawa, and 1945 he moved to Toronto. From 1948 to 1949 he taught summers at the Doon School of Fine Arts near Kitchener, Ontario. Varley continued his travels with a 1955 painting trip to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and in 1957 made the first of several summer trips to the Kootenay area of BC, with his last trip to BC occuring in 1967.

More recognition came to Varley with a 1953 National Film Board on his work, and in 1954 a retrospective exhibition was held originating at the Art Gallery of Toronto, which traveled to the National Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Western Canada.
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Bridge Over Lynn by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $1,321,250
Frederick Horsman Varley
Bridge Over Lynn
32 x 40 in, 81.3 x 101.6 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $800,000 - $1,200,000 CDN
Sold for: $1,321,250 CDN (premium included)
Canadian Impressionist & Modern Art on Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Norma by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $690,000
Frederick Horsman Varley
Norma
40 x 33 in, 101.6 x 83.8 cm
circa 1929
double-sided oil on canvas
Estimate: $600,000 - $800,000 CDN
Sold for: $690,000 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2008 on Thursday, May 22, 2008
Nude on a Couch by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $585,000
Frederick Horsman Varley
Nude on a Couch
18 x 14 in, 45.7 x 35.6 cm
oil on canvas on artist board
Estimate: $400,000 - $500,000 CDN
Sold for: $585,000 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2009 - 2nd Session on Thursday, November 26, 2009
Dusk - Tantalus Range by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $402,500
Frederick Horsman Varley
Dusk - Tantalus Range
12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm
circa 1929
oil on panel
Estimate: $175,000 - $225,000 CDN
Sold for: $402,500 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2008 on Thursday, May 22, 2008
Arctic Night by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $292,500
Frederick Horsman Varley
Arctic Night
11 3/4 x 15 in, 29.8 x 38.1 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000 CDN
Sold for: $292,500 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2010 - 2nd Session on Thursday, November 25, 2010
Indians, Rice Lake, BC by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $224,200
Frederick Horsman Varley
Indians, Rice Lake, BC
12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $90,000 - $120,000 CDN
Sold for: $224,200 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2016 - 4th Session on Wednesday, November 23, 2016
From Kitsilano by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $207,000
Frederick Horsman Varley
From Kitsilano
12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $175,000 - $225,000 CDN
Sold for: $207,000 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2008 on Thursday, May 22, 2008
Misty Day, West Coast (North Shore from Point Grey, Vancouver) by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $207,000
Frederick Horsman Varley
Misty Day, West Coast (North Shore from Point Grey, Vancouver)
12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm
circa 1928
oil on board
Estimate: $175,000 - $225,000 CDN
Sold for: $207,000 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2007 on Friday, November 23, 2007
Ottawa River by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $188,800
Frederick Horsman Varley
Ottawa River
22 x 28 in, 55.9 x 71.1 cm
circa 1943
oil on canvas
Estimate: $150,000 - $250,000 CDN
Sold for: $188,800 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2016 - 4th Session on Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Forest Ranger's Cabin, Lynn Valley by Frederick Horsman Varley sold for $175,500
Frederick Horsman Varley
Forest Ranger's Cabin, Lynn Valley
12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm
circa 1932
oil on panel
Estimate: $150,000 - $200,000 CDN
Sold for: $175,500 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2008 - 2nd Session on Wednesday, November 19, 2008