Artwork by Edwin Headley Holgate,  Laurentian Landscape

Edwin Holgate
Laurentian Landscape

oil on canvas
signed lower right
25 x 30.25 ins ( 63.5 x 76.8 cms )

Auction Estimate: $80,000.00$60,000.00 - $80,000.00

Price Realized $66,000.00
Sale date: June 8th 2023

Provenance:
Private Collection, Montreal
Private Estate
Literature:
Dennis Reid, “Edwin H. Holgate”, Ottawa, 1976, page 22
A landscape painter, portraitist, muralist, printmaker and illustrator, Edwin Holgate most often found his subjects in the province of Quebec. Holgate began his art education at the Art Association of Montreal studying under William Brymner and in 1912 he went to Paris where he studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. He was in Russia at the outbreak of the First World War and returned to Canada where he enlisted with the 5th Canadian Division Artillery (1916-19). He married Mary Frances Rittenhouse in 1920 and returned to Paris to continue his studies. The couple moved to Montreal in 1922, where Holgate opened a studio. He enjoyed the friendship of A.Y. Jackson, Clarence Gagnon, Mabel May, Lilias Torrance Newton, Randolph Hewton, and many of the younger artists who became known as the Beaver Hall Hill Group.

Despite living in the city, Holgate loved the outdoors and was always interested in depicting the wilderness of the Laurentians. He was a good skier and took regular trips to various parts of Quebec, often In the company of Jackson. On skis, the two artists visited many of the well-known areas of Charlevoix and the Laurentians. “Laurentian Landscape” is a bright and cheerful winter landscape, providing a view of snow-covered mountains. The deep snow and absence of any roads suggest that the artist could have visited the location on skis. Curved, fluid lines fill the composition, outlining mountain slopes, rocks, trees and sparse clouds. The sun shines onto the scene, creating a warm glow on the snow and shadows behind two large rocks.

Holgate built a cabin at Lac Tremblant in 1925, but later sold the property to purchase a nine-acre piece of land in Morin Heights, where he would eventually settle with his wife in 1946. Author Dennis Reid describes the artist’s Laurentian paintings as “among the most sensual of his works, they reveal across every inch of their surfaces the long hours of concentration that have brought to them the gentle glow of life.”

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Edwin Headley Holgate
(1892 - 1977) Group of Seven, Canadian Group of Painters, Beaver Hall Group, RCA

Edwin Holgate was born in Allandale, Ontario. Holgate began his art education at the Art Association of Montreal studying under William Brymner who was also A.Y. Jackson's teacher. In 1912 he went to Paris where he studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière under Claudio Castelucho and later under Lucien Simon and René Ménard. He was in Russia at the outbreak of the First World War. He returned to Canada where he enlisted and served with the 5th Canadian Division Artillery in France (1916-19). He married Mary Frances Rittenhouse in 1920 and returned to Paris where he continued his studies. There he attended the Colarossi under Adolph Milman, a Russian refugee.

He returned with his wife to Canada in 1922 and opened a studio. He taught wood engraving at the Ecole des Beaux Arts for six years. In Montreal he enjoyed the friendship of A.Y. Jackson, Clarence Gagnon, Mabel May, Lilas Newton, Randolph Hewton, and many of the younger artists who became known as the Beaver Hall Hill Group. Holgate was a good skier and he would take trips to various parts of Quebec to sketch during the winters, sometimes at Baie St. Paul where A.Y. Jackson, Clarence Gagnon, Mabel May and others would congregate.

In 1926 he accompanied A.Y. Jackson and Marius Barbeau to the Skeena River area in British Columbia. Barbeau had been investigating the condition of the Indian totem poles, many of which were restored by the C.N.R. engineer Mr. T.B. Campbell. Holgate and Jackson made a number of sketches of the poles and the Indian villages in the area. From his sketches, Holgate made several large canvases. One is in the collection of the National Gallery and entitled is “Totem Poles, Gitsegiuklas”.

Holgate became the eighth member of the Group of Seven in 1931 and remained a member of the Group until it disbanded in 1933. From it arose the Canadian Group of Painters of which he was a founding member. Paul Duval noted that Holgate and Varley were the only members of the Group who drew and painted nudes. Holgate was well known also for his portraits and did many striking character studies of inhabitants of Canadian bush country. The Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada have his nude studies in their collections.

During the Second World War, Holgate served overseas as an official Canadian war artist with the R.C.A.F. and painted mainly portraits of flying officers. Holgate’s wood-engravings are exceptionally well done and interesting. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy (A.R.C.A. 1934 - R.C.A. 1935). His work has been exhibited in many group shows over the years. He is represented in many collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the McMichael Collection.

Source: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume II”, compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1979