Sorel Etrog
(1933 - 2014) RCA
Previously Sold Works
SOREL ETROG
Two Untitled Abstracts
two etchings
- “Untitled”; signed and numbered 37/50 in the lower margin
- “Untitled”; signed and numbered 36/50 in the lower margin
4 x 3 ins ( 10.2 x 7.6 cms ) ( plate size, each )
Auction Estimate: $400.00 - $600.00
Price Realized $600.00
Sale date: October 10th 2023
SOREL ETROG
The Hand Suite
etching
signed and inscribed “AP” in the lower margin
12.75 x 9.5 ins ( 32.4 x 24.1 cms ) ( image )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $330.00
Sale date: February 24th 2016
SOREL ETROG
The Hand Suite
etching
signed lower right, inscribed “A.P.” lower left
10.5 x 8 ins ( 26.7 x 20.3 cms ) ( image )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $300.00
Sale date: February 24th 2016
SOREL ETROG
Study for Sculpture
embossed print
signed and numbered 9/50 along the lower edge
11.25 x 8.5 ins ( 28.6 x 21.6 cms ) ( sight )
Auction Estimate: $200.00 - $300.00
Price Realized $259.00
Sale date: December 6th 2017
SOREL ETROG
Figure Study
embossed print
signed and numbered 5/50 in the lower margin
11 x 8.25 ins ( 27.9 x 21 cms ) ( sight )
Auction Estimate: $200.00 - $300.00
Price Realized $266.00
Sale date: September 12th 2018
SOREL ETROG
Hanover Gallery 1970 Exhibition Catalogue
catalogue & three colour lithographs
the catalogue numbered 446/1100; the three lithographs unsigned & unframed
8.75 x 7.5 ins ( 22.2 x 19.1 cms ) ( each lithograph )
Auction Estimate: $125.00 - $175.00
Price Realized $236.00
Sale date: February 20th 2019
SOREL ETROG
Untitled (from the "Toronto 20 Portfolio"), 1965
embossed intaglio
signed lower right, numbered "77/100" lower left
16 x 12 in ( 40.6 x 30.5 cm ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $240.00
Sale date: September 24th 2024
SOREL ETROG
The Hand Suite
etching
signed and inscribed “AP” in the lower margin
12.5 x 9.75 ins ( 31.8 x 24.8 cms ) ( image )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $201.00
Sale date: June 22nd 2016
SOREL ETROG
Hanover Gallery 1970 Exhibition Catalogue
catalogue & two colour lithographs
the catalogue numbered 814/1100; the two lithographs unframed
8.75 x 7.5 ins ( 22.2 x 19.1 cms ) ( each lithograph (sheet) )
Auction Estimate: $150.00 - $200.00
Price Realized $148.00
Sale date: July 18th 2018
SOREL ETROG
Etrusco (Study), 1967
bronze sculpture
from an edition of 10
4.5 x 1.75 x 2.25 ins ( 11.4 x 4.4 x 5.7 cms )
Auction Estimate: $3,000.00 - $4,000.00
Price Realized $1,495.00
Sale date: March 23rd 2015
SOREL ETROG
Family Group; Untitled (Yellow Head)
colour lithograph and a colour etching with embossing
- “Family Group” - signed and numbered 24/50 in the lower margin; 15.5 x 14 ins (39.4 x 35.6 cms) [image]; unframed
- “Untitled (Yellow Head)” - signed and numbered 8/40 in the lower margin; 18.5 x 11.75 ins (47 x 29.8 cms) [plate]; unframed
15.5 x 14 ins ( 39.4 x 35.6 cms ) ( largest )
Consignments
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Sorel Etrog Biography
(1933 - 2014) RCA
Based in Toronto for more than fifty years, Sorel Etrog was born in Iasi, Romania, in 1933. He is most well-known as a sculptor, but he also illustrated books, painted, and wrote poetry, plays, and films. His sculptures were influenced by his adolescence spent under Soviet rule and an interest in philosophical writings that questioned the nature of post-war society. He was also inspired by his grandfather who was a carpenter. Etrog, along with his parents and sister attempted to flee Romania in 1946 but were caught. His parents were then imprisoned for several weeks. Finally, Etrog and his family left Romania in 1950 and made it to the Sha’ar Aliyaa refugee camp near Haifa, Israel.
While serving mandatory time in the Israel Defense Forces’ medical corps in 1953 he began studying art at Tel Aviv’s Arts Institute for Painting and Sculpture. Inspired by Cubist collage and modernist music, he created three-dimensional paintings, mimicking constructivist reliefs. In 1958, he received a scholarship to attend school at the Brooklyn Museum of Art School.
Upon arrival in New York City, Etrog became drawn to African and Oceanic art due to their expressive shapes and began incorporating these elements into his work. While trying to find gallery representation in New York City, Samuel J. Zachs purchased one of Etrog’s paintings and invited Etrog to spend the summer of 1959 in Southampton on Lake Huron with him. While in Southampton, Etrog created his first wooden sculptures and gained gallery representation from Gallery Moos in Toronto. This encounter inspired the young artist to apply for Canadian citizenship and eventually move to Toronto in 1963.
In his mature sculptural works, Etrog explores spontaneous symbols, primal elements and the relationship between form and symbol. The artist described his art as "tension created by pulling together and pulling apart, with being stuck and being freed, a world of grabbing and holding on and losing hold...bringing shapes together but at the same time giving each an independence."
After immigrating to Canada, Etrog had his first traveling exhibition in 1965. The show began at Gallery Moos, then traveled to New York City, Los Angeles, and Montreal. In 1966, Etrog, alongside Yves Gaucher and Alex Colville, represented Canada at the Venice Biennale. He later received several important commissions, including those for Expo ’67, Montreal; SunLife Centre, Toronto; Windsor Sculpture Garden, Windsor, Ontario; Los Angeles County Museum, and Olympic Park in Seoul, Korea. Before his death in 2014, Etrog’s art was included in a retrospective at Buschlen Mowatt in Vancouver in 2003.
Literature Sources:
"A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977
Mikulinsky, Alma, “Sorel Etrog: Life and Work,” Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2018
We extend our thanks to Danie Klein, York University graduate student in art history, for writing and contributing this artist biography.
