ARCA G7 OSA
1881 - 1969
Canadian
Sunset
oil on board
signed and on verso stamped with the Varley Inventory #1113
12 x 15 in, 30.5 x 38.1 cm
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CAD
Sold for: $29,500
Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave
PROVENANCE
Jerrold Morris Gallery, Toronto
By descent to the present Private Collection, Toronto
LITERATURE
Christopher Varley, F.H. Varley: A Centennial Exhibition, Edmonton Art Gallery, 1981, page 12
Each member of the Group of Seven, though they shared a passion for the Canadian landscape, was unique. Frederick Varley’s outlook on the landscape was rooted in nineteenth-century English painting. As Christopher Varley described him, he was “romantic, introspective, and prone to idealism and sentimentality...Like his beloved J.M.W. Turner[,]...his view of the world was deeply personal and tinged with mysticism.” A sign on the wall of one of Varley’s studios read “Artist Awake or Be Forever Fallen.” Varley strove to be “awake”—he threw himself into life and lived it with a passion, from music and women to immersing himself in the beauty of nature. In Sunset, Varley places a lone hiker with his walking stick on a rocky plateau above a small lake, witnessing the splendour of the sunset. Varley’s mastery of colour is fully realized here, particularly in the glowing sunset with its green and coral tones, and in the cloud banks above, which fluctuate from deep cobalt to lighter shades of blue. This stunning painting embodies Varley’s romantic feeling for the sublime wonder of nature.
This work is #1113 in the Varley Inventory listing.
Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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