Sold for: $79,250

PROVENANCE
Gift of the Artist to his brother, Frederick Augustus Peel
By descent to Paul Peel II
By descent to Paul Peel III, British Columbia

LITERATURE
Victoria Baker, Paul Peel: A Retrospective, 1860 - 1892, London Regional Art Gallery, 1986, reproduced page 104

EXHIBITED
Toronto Industrial Exhibition, 1882, titled as Portrait of the Artist, catalogue #164
Provincial Exhibition, Kingston, 1882, titled as Portrait of a Young Man
Western Fair, 1882
London Regional Art Gallery, Paul Peel: A Retrospective, 1860 - 1892, September 6 - October 26, 1986, traveling to other Canadian museums and art galleries, catalogue #13

Paul Peel traveled to Paris in 1881 and took a studio on rue d’Assas along the northern fringe of Montparnasse, a district popular with artists. At this centre of bohemian Parisian life he was close to museums such as the Louvre, and in 1882 he was admitted to the atelier of Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École des beaux-arts to study. This fine, rare portrait is a classic pose, dignified and aristocratic, showing the artist in the bloom of youth. Peel paints with a carefully selected palette—the velvety green of the background, soft black in his clothing and the lustrous brown of his hair contrast with the delicate, glowing tones of flesh and rose in his face. Self-Portrait exhibits superb brushwork techniques, a fine sense of volume and a classical harmony of elements. This work, in the possession of the Peel family for generations, is offered for sale for the first time. Extensively exhibited from the year it was produced up until its showing in the Peel retrospective at the London Regional Art Gallery in 1986, it was also featured in Victoria Baker’s book for this retrospective.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars