Samuel Borenstein
Samuel Borenstein
1908 - 1969
CAS QMG
The Canadian Expressionist painter Samuel Borenstein has been compared to Marc Chagall and Vincent Van Gogh, with occasional touches of surrealism appearing in his work. Born in Lithuania in 1908, Borenstein immigrated to Canada in 1921 and lived all his life in Montreal. From his beloved home, he painted the people and places of his world with joyous exuberance, wild brushwork, bold colours and an ability to capture movement and feeling in his subjects. He was a gestural painter, and a master of working directly with a palette knife heavily laden with paint. He painted landscapes, cityscapes and street scenes, florals and still life, as well as portraiture and figurative works, working directly from his subjects. He sought to paint the feelings of things, responding to weather, personal relationships and emotions in a palpable way. His work is personal but not private, humanist and universal. Self-taught, he overcame poverty and a disapproving father to become a dedicated painter who produced hundreds of works in his forty-year career. He was a member of the Society of Independent Artists, with whom he exhibited.
Borenstein did not find critical or monetary success during his lifetime, but since his death he has been widely collected and is represented in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the National Portrait Gallery. In his home province, he is represented in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Museé du Quebec. His life and work was the subject of a touring retrospective organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2005, which brought him a much wider scope of attention. He is the subject of two books: Borenstein: His Life and Work by William Kuhns and Leo Rosshandler, and Sam Borenstein by Loren Lerner. His daughter Joyce Borenstein, a filmmaker and artist, created an animated short film on his life in 1991 titled Colours of my Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein. The film won nine international awards including a Genie Award and was nominated for an Academy Award.
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Ste-Agathe by Samuel Borenstein sold for $93,600
Samuel Borenstein
Ste-Agathe
34 x 42 in, 86.3 x 106.7 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $45,000 - $65,000 CDN
Sold for: $93,600 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2010 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 25, 2010
Street in Ste-Agathe by Samuel Borenstein sold for $76,050
Samuel Borenstein
Street in Ste-Agathe
32 1/8 x 38 in, 81.6 x 96.5 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000 CDN
Sold for: $76,050 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2009 - 1st Session on Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunflowers by Samuel Borenstein sold for $57,500
Samuel Borenstein
Sunflowers
40 x 30 in, 101.6 x 76.2 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CDN
Sold for: $57,500 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2008 on Thursday, May 22, 2008
Summer by Samuel Borenstein sold for $54,625
Samuel Borenstein
Summer
20 1/4 x 32 in, 51.4 x 81.3 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $25,000 - $30,000 CDN
Sold for: $54,625 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2007 on Friday, November 23, 2007
Street Scene by Samuel Borenstein sold for $46,800
Samuel Borenstein
Street Scene
18 x 24 in, 45.7 x 61 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CDN
Sold for: $46,800 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2011 - 1st Session on Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Shawbridge by Samuel Borenstein sold for $46,000
Samuel Borenstein
Shawbridge
24 x 30 in, 61 x 76.2 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $18,000 - $22,000 CDN
Sold for: $46,000 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Spring 2008 on Thursday, May 22, 2008
Still Life by Samuel Borenstein sold for $43,125
Samuel Borenstein
Still Life
28 x 22 in, 71.1 x 55.9 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CDN
Sold for: $43,125 CDN (premium included)
Fine Canadian Art Fall 2007 on Friday, November 23, 2007
Summer, Ste-Agathe by Samuel Borenstein sold for $40,950
Samuel Borenstein
Summer, Ste-Agathe
18 x 24 in, 45.7 x 61 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CDN
Sold for: $40,950 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2010 - 1st Session on Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Prevost, Laurentians, PQ by Samuel Borenstein sold for $38,350
Samuel Borenstein
Prevost, Laurentians, PQ
34 x 42 1/4 in, 86.3 x 107.3 cm
oil on canvas
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CDN
Sold for: $38,350 CDN (premium included)
Spring 2016 - 1st Session on Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Lac Paquin, PQ by Samuel Borenstein sold for $35,100
Samuel Borenstein
Lac Paquin, PQ
15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in, 40 x 50.2 cm
oil on board
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CDN
Sold for: $35,100 CDN (premium included)
Fall 2008 - 1st Session on Wednesday, November 19, 2008