P11 RCA
1926 - 1998
Canadian
Altar
oil on canvas
signed and dated 1970 and on verso signed, titled, dated November 23, 1970 and inscribed "Toronto"
78 x 60 in, 198.1 x 152.4 cm
Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CAD
Sold for: $18,750
Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, USA
Private Collection, Toronto
LITERATURE
Robert Belton, The Theatre of the Self: The Life and Art of William Ronald, 1999, pages xv, 27 and 78, reproduced page 71
William Ronald was a part of Toronto’s Painters Eleven group, formed in 1953. As Ronald stated, “We were all highly individualistic, egotistical, ambitious, and hungry for recognition." Ronald was known for his dramatic and outspoken personality—as he once declared, “I am the theatre of myself”—and his passion infused his work. In 1970, Ronald was hosting the CBC program As It Happens, and his painting was going through an evolution. Writer Robert Belton felt that Surrealist automatism was having an effect on Ronald’s work in the early 1970s. He also stated, “Ronald had set out to find an alternative to the hard-edge style. The deliberation and dispassionate execution required were alien to his passionate personality, which clearly ranged from the lyrically sensuous to the downright volatile.” Altar, with its vivid colour palette and expressive, energized forms, is an outstanding example of the “lyrically sensuous.”
Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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