ARCA G7 OSA
1881 - 1969
Canadian
Male Figure / Detail Study (verso)
pen, ink and graphite drawing
on verso titled, dated circa 1930 and stamped with the Varley Inventory No. 902
5 3/4 x 4 in, 14.6 x 10.2 cm
Estimate: $800 - $1,000 CAD
Sold for: $1,625
Preview at:
PROVENANCE
Collection of the Artist
Acquired from the above by John Vanderpant, Vancouver
By descent to the present Private Collection, Vancouver
LITERATURE
Joyce Zemans, Jock MacDonald: The Inner Landscape, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1981, page 47
This work was acquired directly from Group of Seven member Frederick Varley by the internationally renowned photographer, John Vanderpant. Vanderpant and Varley became very close friends when Varley moved to Vancouver in 1926 to head the department of Drawing and Painting at the newly formed Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts (now Emily Carr University of Art + Design). While Varley taught at the school, Vanderpant opened the Vanderpant Galleries, which promoted British Columbia artists and became a gathering place for Vancouver’s artistic community. Together they would spend evenings socializing, drinking and discussing the emerging West Coast aesthetic.
Both artists shared ideas in common regarding the metaphysical qualities of art. As historian Joyce Zemans remarked, the Vancouver scene of the time could be summed up by Jack Shadbolt's recollection of Varley’s advice to his students to “forget anything not mystical.” Varley considered the work that he produced after moving out west to be his best. The landscape of ocean and mountains impressed him greatly, and influenced his use of deeper, richer colours. He infused his work with a spiritual quality, awakened in part by an interest in Eastern art and philosophies.
The late 1920s and early 1930s saw a radical shift into modernism, away from the conservative Victorian art tradition that previously defined the Vancouver art scene. The arrival of Varley, Vanderpant, and others like Jock Macdonald helped spur a new energy in the city, laying the foundations for the next generation of artists. Between them, their relationship and shared interests helped to redefine modern art on Canada’s West Coast.
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