Lovers, 1949

Jack Bush Art Estate Private Collection, Toronto

New Paintings by Jack Bush, Gavin Henderson Gallery, Toronto, 1949, cat. no. 12 Jack Bush: Hymn to the Sun, Early Work, Art Gallery of Algoma, Sault Ste. Marie, 1997 (travelling exhibition)

Michael Burtch, Jack Bush: Hymn to the Sun, Early Work [Exhibition Catalogue], Art Gallery of Algoma, 1997, reproduced page 50

“The Lovers” (also known simply as “Lovers”) made its debut in a solo exhibition titled New Paintings by Jack Bush at Toronto’s Gavin Henderson Galleries in October 1949. The gallery, located at 759 Yonge Street, promoted the thirty-two works in show by calling it “an exhibition of provocative new paintings.” With paintings titled Agony, Rising Spirit, Job, The Prophet, Out of the Woods, The Beseechers, Flight Into Egypt, and Strange Land, the exhibition reflected the spiritual consciousness of the artist, but also a mood of personal exploration; other paintings in the exhibition included “Man in a Mood”, “Transition”, “The Ponderer”, “Contemplation”, and “Tangled”. Jack Bush was raised High Anglican, and brought up his own children with some exposure to the Church, though not as strictly as he himself had experienced growing up. Bush’s increasing interest in spiritual, and specifically biblical topics in the late 1940s coincided with his decision to begin psychological therapy in 1947. While Bush’s psyche may have been under stress, love was a constant in his life. He married Mabel Teakle in 1934 and remained a committed husband, despite the challenges of an international career in art that neither spouse imagined would be so successful. Since his life demonstrated a respect for companionship and Christianity, it is doubtless that Bush valued the Song of Songs. Within the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the Song of Songs is entirely unique for its focus on sexual love and lack of teachings in the usual biblical subjects of God, law and covenant. Lovers are vividly evoked in 1:7 of the Song of Songs: Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? (King James Bible) While there is no evidence to say what exactly inspired this painting, a spiritual connection is certainly signaled by the artist’s inclusion of a red sun. Many of Bush’s paintings from the late 1940s through the early 1950s include a red sun, recurring like an ever-present spirit. A Christian hymn called “Every Morning the Red Sun” may have served to inspire this warm symbol: Every morning the red sun Rises warm and bright; But the evening cometh on, And the dark, cold night. There’s a bright land far away, Where ‘tis never-ending day. As we see in the bisected background of “The Lovers” painting, dark nights are followed by bright days, like sorrow may be followed by joy and love. This painting will be included in the forthcoming Jack Bush Catalogue Raisonné. We extend our thanks to Dr. Sarah Stanners for contributing the preceding essay. Sarah currently holds a Status Only appointment as Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Art History while writing the forthcoming Jack Bush Catalogue Raisonné. From 2015 to 2018 she was the Chief Curator of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Co-Curator of the 2014/2015 national travelling exhibition, Jack Bush, Co-Author of the resulting 2014 exhibition catalogue (Jack Bush) and guest curator and author for Jack Bush: In Studio, organized by the Esker Foundation in Calgary.