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LOT 139

BCSFA CGP
1871 - 1945
Canadian

BC Forest Interior
oil on paper on board, circa 1935
signed and on verso inscribed "38" and stamped with the Dominion Gallery stamp twice with the original 1448 St. Catherine West address
33 3/4 x 22 1/2 in, 85.7 x 57.1 cm

Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000 CAD

Sold for: $407,100

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
Dominion Gallery, Montreal
Emme Frankenberg, Montreal
By descent to Beaté and István Anhalt, Toronto
By descent to the present Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Emily Carr, Hundreds and Thousands: The Journals of Emily Carr, 2006, page 264


This painting was originally acquired by the consignor's grandmother, Emme Frankenberg, who was an artist. She collected several Emily Carr works, including her well known oil self-portrait which is now in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. Upon Frankenberg's death, BC Forest Interior passed to the consignor's parents, Beaté and István Anhalt. István was a noted composer, Juno Award winner, and recipient of the Order of Canada. Beaté had a career as a cancer researcher and was honoured by the Province of Ontario for her many years of volunteer service at Kingston General Hospital.

BC Forest Interior is one of Carr’s light and joyous woods paintings. The slender, branchless trunks of evergreens let in the light, and the soft milky and golden greens of the foliage on the forest floor radiate the energy of fresh growth. In a 1935 journal entry, Carr wrote of the woods, “Nothing is crowded; there is living space for all. Air moves between each leaf. Sunlight plays and dances...Life is sweeping through the spaces.” Carr could be describing a scene such as this—certainly the impression here is one of “living space for all,” as light pours into the forest, with a strong glow emanating from the sky. Carr’s use of oil thinned with turpentine or gasoline on paper freed her to express her perception of energy moving through the forest—her brush-strokes became open and sweeping, resulting in the palpable sense of rhythm we see here. Her varying use of short and long strokes, both horizontal and vertical, and her building of the movement from forest floor up through the larger trees into the sky give this superb painting a lofty and transcendent atmosphere.


Estimate: $125,000 - $175,000 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.