Sold for: $28,125

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the Artist by Dr. John Parnell
By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia

LITERATURE
Ian M. Thom and Andrew Hunter, Gordon Smith: The Act of Painting, Vancouver Art Gallery, 1997, a similar painting in the collection of The National Gallery of Canada reproduced page 77

This fine work was originally acquired from the artist by Dr. John Parnell, a prominent Vancouver collector and a former president of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Parnell was the doctor and good friend of both Gordon Smith and Lawren Harris. From a young age, Parnell was an avid art lover. When he was an intern at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, he urged them to purchase paintings by local BC artists and then himself became a great art collector, acquiring works by E.J. Hughes, Lawren Harris and Smith. Smith has said of Parnell, "He was very supportive of the arts, right from the time he was interning." Smith is also the godfather of Parnell's children.

By 1961, Smith had a vast amount of experience as a working artist which contributed to his successful abstract paintings. In 1960 he represented Canada at the Bienal de São Paulo in Brazil and was awarded a Canada Council fellowship, which allowed him to take time off from teaching in order to travel; he went to Montreal, New York and Europe.

Prairie Town is a classic early 1960s Smith abstract landscape. In this stunning work he has painted an abstracted prairie town scene that, presumably, would have been inspired by his travels. There is a clear central band made up of smaller fragmented squares, painted in vibrant shades of orange, red, purple and blue – most likely representing buildings in the prairie town. The top and bottom halves of the piece would then be the surrounding prairie land and sky, executed with softer colours, looser brush strokes and larger, less structured squares – creating the feel of more open space.

A very similar oil on canvas, titled Townscape, is in the National Gallery of Canada.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars

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