ARCA OSA
1879 - 1965
Canadian
Portrait of a Man in a Rowboat (Possible Portrait of Tom Thomson)
oil on board, circa 1910 - 1912
signed and on verso signed
9 1/2 x 6 in, 24.1 x 15.2 cm
Estimate: $6,000 - $8,000 CAD
Sold for: $16,250
Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Toronto
LITERATURE
Tom Smart, Peter Clapham Sheppard: His Life and Work, 2018, reproduced page 74
This portrait is believed to be of Canadian icon Tom Thomson. Thomson and Sheppard were contemporaries in Toronto’s cultural milieu of the early 1900s. They shared many common points of contact including J.W. Beatty, William Cruikshank and the Ontario Society of Artists. Thomson and Sheppard were even briefly neighbours on Summerhill Avenue in 1912. The two developing artists shared many of the same aesthetic sympathies, as modernism and a new approach to painting began to take root in Canada. They would likely have had numerous opportunities to cross paths and possibly even paint together.
The artist Bernice Fenwick-Martin, a friend and peer of Sheppard, and the manager of his Estate, relayed to the consignor of this work that Sheppard expressed that this portrait was indeed of his friend and neighbour on Summerhill, Tom Thomson.
The circa date ascribed to this painting relates to the period in which Sheppard is known to have used this panel size, which is believed to be a cigar-box lid. The additional images demonstrate the resemblance of Thomson to the subject of the painting, in both physical appearance and dress.
As so few depictions of Thomson exist, this work presents a potentially invaluable addition to Canadian art history.
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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