Still Life with Iris and Pears, 1962, circa 1962

Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal Gift of Duncan Jessiman, 1978 Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery

"Through the Eyes of a Child", Winnipeg Art Gallery, 31 March-21 April 1996 "Goodridge Roberts Revealed", McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario; travelling to Musée du Québec, 31 January 1998-7 March 1999 "Government House Selections", Government House, Winnipeg, 11 January 2018-January 2020

"Director's Choice with Michel V. Cheff", Winnipeg Art Gallery Flyer, 20 November 1996 "Tableau", Winnipeg Art Gallery, Vol. 9-6, November/December 1996, reproduced page 6 Sandra Paikowsky, "Goodridge Roberts 1904-1974", Kleinburg, 1998, reproduced page 206, pages 195-196

Following time spent travelling and painting in Europe, then New Brunswick, Goodridge Roberts returned to Montreal in the spring of 1960. The artist’s remaining active years would be spent between Quebec and Ontario. Roberts produced still life paintings over the course of his career. His work in this motif reflected his changing painterly interests and preferred techniques over time. However what remained constant was Roberts’ diligent commitment to his studio practice and his emphasis on painting from direct, careful observation. Art historian Sandra Paikowsky noted, “the ready accessibility of their ‘raw ingredients’, the potential variety of images achieved by only minor changes in the arrangement of the objects, as well as the fact that the still life could be painted in any space appropriated as a ‘studio’, goes far in explaining why he constantly returned to the subject.” In contrast to painting landscapes “en plain air”, working from a carefully arranged studio still life allowed the artist great control over each element of his subject. “Still Life with Iris and Pears” is particularly notable for its monumental scale. Substantially larger than life, the size shows Roberts’ interest is in exploring the formal concerns of painting, rather than adhering to the conventional still life as domestic and intimate. During the 1960s, the painter also produced large-format landscapes. The vigorous brushstrokes and apparent spontaneity of these works led to comparisons with abstract painting celebrated during the period, though Roberts resisted this association. Paikowsky commented, “Modern aesthetics would identify his painting of the 1960s with the language of abstraction even though Roberts himself had little interest in the contemporary developments of Montreal or international art.” In this work, the lively hues of the subjects are amplified by the muted background. Roberts has depicted the setting with some ambiguity, omitting details to define the studio environment. The complete pictorial space is charged with energetic brushwork. Painting confidently and directly, Roberts is here more interested in the formal arrangement of simplified areas of colour, rather than the realistic depiction of volume.