Sold for: $64,350

PROVENANCE
Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by Milton Shulman
By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia

LITERATURE
Yseult Riopelle, Jean-Paul Riopelle Catalogue Raisonné, Volume II, 1954 - 1959, 2004, reproduced page 352, catalogue #1954.019P.1954

The early to mid 1950s were an exciting period for Jean-Paul Riopelle. He was living in Paris, and his watercolours from this period reflect the energy and stimulus of its thriving artistic environment. The composition of these watercolours is a fine balance of structure and intuition, which allows the lines, daubs of black ink and washes of colour to hint at something rather than state it. In this vibrant work, Riopelle employs a horizontal format and a rainbow of colours to create a particularly rhythmical and attractive dance.

This work was originally acquired by Milton Shulman, a distinguished theatre and film critic. Shulman was born in Toronto and, after serving in the Second World War, spent most of his adult life in London. In 1948, fellow Canadian Lord Beaverbook hired Shulman at the London Evening Standard and he became its theatre critic, a position he held for almost four decades. Shulman was also passionate about international art - his collection included works by Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall and Yaacov Agam, among others - and this fine work has stayed within his family until its consignment to Heffel.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars