The Collection of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. (acquired directly from the artist as a gift to the corporation)
Literature
Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Limited, introduction by Luke Rombout, “Appel's Appels”, 1972.
Karel Appel was a Dutch painter, muralist, sculptor and poet, educated at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. Appel helped set up the Dutch Experimental Group in Amsterdam, which soon involved other international artists to create the International CoBrA group in 1948.
Influenced by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Jean Dubuffet, Appel utilized a vibrant and spontaneous picture language typical of the controversial CoBrA artists, leading the way for a new era of expressive painting in Europe. Appel was very active during this period and developed a new style of assemblage using elements of wood and found objects in relief, and also introduced elements of narrative representation.
A Canadian touring exhibition of Karel Appel's work, called “The Apples of Appel's Eyes,” was a collaborative effort between the artist and Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Limited. Finding its inspiration from a show in Appel's native Holland two years prior, “The Apples of Appel's Eyes” featured a selection of the artist's personal favourites and new artworks created specifically for the exhibition. The exhibition made a total of nine stops between April 21, 1972 and July 9, 1973, including Montreal, Victoria, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, London, and Toronto's own Art Gallery of Ontario. “Self-Portrait”, executed in 1971, is precisely in line with the artwork celebrated in the Canadian touring exhibition.
Appel travelled to Mexico, the United States, Yugoslavia and Brazil, garnering international acclaim with solo exhibitions along the way. The artist received the UNESCO prize at the Venice Biennale in 1954, and the first prize at the Guggenheim Internationale exhibition in 1960. The Karel Appel Foundation established in 1999 in his hometown of Amsterdam.
