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LOT 131

ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA
1882 - 1974
Canadian

The Melville Ice Pack
oil on board
signed and on verso signed, titled and titled The Melville Pack, dated 1927 indistinctly and inscribed "5137"
8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in, 21.6 x 26.7 cm

Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD

Sold for: $40,250

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
A gift from the Artist to a fellow member of the Arts and Letters Club, Toronto, 1940
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto, 2008

LITERATURE
A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country: The Autobiography of A.Y. Jackson, 1958, page 95
Naomi Jackson Groves, A.Y. Jackson: The Arctic 1927, 1982, the 1927 graphite sketch Pushing Through Melville Pack Ice reproduced, unpaginated, plate 12

EXHIBITED
Art Gallery of Toronto, 1954


A.Y. Jackson painted this spectacular oil sketch during a 1927 trip through the Arctic with Dr. Frederick Banting aboard the SS Beothic. Jackson recounted in his journal, “The Melville pack has been the terror of the Arctic for hundreds of years…As we passed through the Melville pack we observed old ice floes and patches of blue ice, and ice lifted off the shore with mud and stones all over it. To make studies when the ship was zigzagging through the ice fields was very difficult. The old floes were fantastic in shape; some resembled big mushrooms and were beautiful in colour, lavender white on the outside and green-blue under the water.” Banting wanted to stop there, but Captain Falk was so concerned about the ship being trapped that he spent hours in the crow’s nest monitoring their progress until they reached open water. The Melville Ice Pack is a stunning work by Jackson, with sculptural ice patches undulating through the cold water into the distance while overtop, unusual cloud formations send fingers of icy precipitation down to the horizon. With the melting of the Arctic, paintings such as this may become records of what once was.


Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.