PLOUGHING PASTURE

colour linocut on cream oriental laid paper; ed. # 59/60

11.5 x 14.5 in. (29.2 x 36.8 cm)

Price Realized:

6000.00 CAD.

INCLUDES BUYER’S PREMIUM

Notes:

signed, titled & editioned upper centre

Note: Printed from 4 blocks in raw sienna, alizarin crimson, grey & ivory black. Illustrated: page 108 “Sybil Andrews Linocuts: A Complete Catalogue” (Hana Leaper & Osborne Samuel; Lund Humphries, 2015); page 121 of “Linocuts of the Machine Age: Claude Flight and the Grosvenor School” (Stephen Coppel; Scholar Press, 1995); pages 44 and 62 of “Sybil Andrews” (Glenbow-Alberta Institute, 1982)

Reference: Coppel SA54; Leaper 63

Sybil Andrews was born in the small town of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England. She apprenticed, then worked as a welder, during WWI, all the while taking art classes by correspondence. In 1922, she was able to enroll in the Heatherley School of Fine Art. Then, after accepting the position of school secretary at the newly formed Grosvenor School of Modern Art (in 1925), Andrews began to attend Claude Flight’s classes in linoleum-cut printing. Flight, a new instructor at the school, was influenced by Futurism, Cubism and Vorticism, and brought with him a modern approach to art, as well as innovative printmaking techniques.

Andrews thrived in this medium, producing numerous works in the Hammersmith (London) studio that she shared with like-minded artist Cyrill Power. During WWII, she once again worked as a welder for the war effort (this time working on warships instead of airplanes). Following the War, Andrews married and moved to Campbell River, on Vancouver Island. Here, she lived a simple life, teaching art and music. Andrews did not begin creating linocuts again until 1951. Her new home influenced her work, as she was still driven by the desire to create “art that can show the everyday life of today”. This everyday scene, of a farmer ploughing a field, his horse team pulling him over the horizon, embodies those elements that define Sybil Andrew’s work: strong colour, streamlined design, sweeping lines and patterns that come together to create a sense of energy and movement. In this way, Andrews is able to reconcile the paradox of the timeless with the modern.

A copy of this work can be found in numerous public collections including: Glenbow Museum; National Gallery of Canada; The British Museum; Burnaby Art Gallery; and Campbell River Museum.

The Glenbow Museum held a retrospective exhibition of Sybil Andrews work in 1982, and the current exhibition “Sybil Andrews: Art and Life” runs until January 12, 2020.