2019 December | Hodgins Art Auctions

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signed & titled on the stretcher verso; dated on the gallery labels

Provenance: Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver BC; Art Rental Service of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto ON

Exhibited: “Ted Godwin: The Tartan Years 1967-1976″, The Nickel Arts Museum, Calgary AB (#18)

Note: A copy of the exhibition catalogue accompanies this painting; this work is illustrated on page 6.

The Tartan Series paintings (1967-1976), metaphorically signifying the complicated, disorganized nature of life, secured Godwin’s place as a leading modern abstract painter in Canada.

Godwin produced his famous ‘”Tartans” by layering many transparent washes of colour on large canvases laid out on the studio floor, rolling a variety of paint colours in grid-like patterns over their surfaces. The resulting works can be compared to a weaving, with the overlapping of the warp and weft. Each small overlapping area could stand alone as a small colour field painting. Curator Ann Davis states, “I see Godwin’s overriding concern in the ‘Tartans’ as being a search for order without a loss of spontaneity.”

Godwin’s work has been collected by major institutions across Canada, including The National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canada Council Art Bank, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the University of Regina, and the Confederation Art Centre.

Ted Godwin was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy in 1974; he was made Professor Emeritus and received the Award of Excellence from the Alberta College of Art in 2001; he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Regina in 2001; and received the Order of Canada in the summer of 2004.

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signed & dated lower right; titled lower left
Provenance: Paul Kuhn Fine Arts, Calgary AB

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initialed

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signed & dated upper right; titled on the artist’s and gallery labels verso
Provenance: Mazelow Gallery, Toronto ON; Masters Gallery, Calgary AB

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signed & dated lower left; titled verso and on the artist’s label

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signed, titled & dated in pencil; stamped with a blind stamp

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signed lower right; signed, titled & extensively inscribed verso; dated on the gallery label verso; in the artist’s custom frame
Provenance: Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto ON

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signed, titled & dated verso

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signed lower right; signed & titled verso

Provenance: Masters Gallery, Calgary

Note: This is one of only ten works ever produced by Glyde in this size. They were created at the request of Peter Ohler Sr. for an exhibition and sale at Masters Gallery, Calgary AB.

English-born Glyde trained at the Brassey Institute in Hastings and the Royal College of Art in London, before accepting an invitation from his friend, A.C. Leighton, then director of the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art, to join him at the Institute. Glyde moved to Calgary with his family in 1935, working initially as a drawing instructor, then taking over from Leighton as Director of the Institute. In 1946, Glyde moved to Edmonton to head the Departnment of Fine Arts at the University of Alberta, where he remained for twenty years until his retirement. Over the years, Glyde additionally taught at the Banff School of Fine Art (1936-1967) and in various rural centres, offering arts instruction through the extension program of the University of Alberta (1936-1946). He was also the president of the Alberta Society of Artists for a number of years.

Glyde painted and exhibited actively throughout his long and distinguished teaching career. A contemporary of A.Y. Jackson (Jackson mentions Glyde several times in his autobiography), the two were frequent sketching partners. Yet Glyde’s approach to landscape painting was distinct. His representation of the landscape did not emanate from an emotional response, nor did he use a strong colour palette. In keeping with his classical training, his approach was rooted in observation, design and composition, yielding a representation of the landscape that expresses the majesty of the subject while maintaining a gentle, underlying harmony and rhythm.

Notes:

signed lower right; signed & titled verso