signed and dated 1949 lower left; signed lower right; monogrammed, dated and verified by the artist (”17 janv. 1970”) on the reverse
7.25 × 9.5 in (18.4 × 24.1 cm)
Auction Estimate:$4,000 - $6,000
Sale date:November 23, 2017
Price Realized
$8,050
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Private Collection, Toronto
Literature
Marie-Catherine Cyr and Wendy Baker, “Marcelle Ferron for Conservators: The Artist, her Materials and Techniques from 1953 to 1960, and the Treatment of an Untitled Oil Painting on Canvas Plywood,” Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation, Volume 25, 2010, page 31
Roald Nasgaard and Ray Ellenwood, Automatiste Revolution: Montreal, 1941-1960, Toronto, 2009, page 43
A member of the Automatistes, Marcelle Ferron was counselled by Paul-Émile Borduas to abandon narrative and landscape painting in favour of more radical abstraction. At the time the artist met Borduas in 1946 through to 1953, Ferron favoured a sgraffito technique where she would apply multiple layers of pigment and scrape away between applications with a palette knife. Roald Nasgaard argues that “her scrapes swoop and intertwine, evoking the effect of wind-blown grasses or tangled seaweed.” The bursting, expressive strokes of layered colour, ranging from thin veils to opaque strokes of paint creates depth, movement and invigorating complexity within the artwork.
