signed lower right; titled on labels on the reverse
38 × 30.25 in (96.5 × 76.8 cm)
Auction Estimate:$12,000 - $15,000
Sale date:November 22, 2021
Price Realized
$15,600
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Collection of Dr. & Mrs. Max Stern, Montreal
Dominion Gallery, Montreal
Arthur Leggett Fine Art & Antiques, Toronto
Private Collection, Ontario
Exhibited
The Elsie Perrin Williams Memorial Art Museum, London, Ontario
“Canadian Group of Painters”, Art Gallery of Toronto and Art Association of Montreal, 1947-48
Glenbow - Alberta Institute, Calgary, Alberta (undated)
Literature
Hugues de Jouvancourt, “Goodridge Roberts”, Montreal, 1984, reproduced in colour page 17
During the Second World War, William Goodridge Roberts served as an official war artist for Canada while stationed in England. At the close of the war, Roberts resumed his teaching position at the Art Association of Montreal. A prolific painter, Roberts developed his individualistic vision within the motifs of landscape, portraiture and still life. “Cyclamen on Table” features the artist’s trademark loose and assured brushwork. The lively red flowers form the peak of a triangular composition. A deft depiction of the patterned colours of the studio cloth adds visual energy. The linear brushstrokes of the background drapery echo the formation of the table legs, working to direct the viewer’s gaze about the composition. Though the painting appears to have been executed rapidly, the artist has taken care to capture the quality of crisp light landing on the table’s surface. Roberts relished the high degree of control that working with still life subjects allowed, creating arrangements of familiar objects in a studio setting for careful observation.
William Goodridge Roberts - Cyclamen on Table | Cowley Abbott