2022 May | Hodgins Art Auctions

Notes:

signed lower right; signed & dated on the stretcher verso

Notes:

signed lower left

Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist in 2006.

Note: This work is illustrated on page 144 of “Medicine Paint, The Art of Dale Auger” (Dale Auger, with foreword by Mary-Beth Laviolette; Heritage House, 2009). A copy of the book accompanies the painting. The caption within the book, referencing the image, reads:

“We once had a medicine man in our camp. We knew him only as the Traveller. He was tall and charming and had great powers. They say he had the ability to travel to the future, and as proof of his travels he would bring back with him different medicine from different times.”

This was a favourite work of Dale Auger. The artist, in discussing this piece with the purchaser (and friend), indicated that in some ways this was a self-portrait. Auger related that he would often dream of travelling in time, and would contemplate how strange it would be if he could bring everyday items from today back in time. He theorized that even items we casually discard would be transformed, holding power and value in another life and time.

Notes:

signed lower right

Provenance: This work was acquired directly from Nicholas de Grandmaison by Mr. Lowe (Calgary AB / Vancouver BC); by descent to William (Bill) Lowe (Toronto ON); by descent in 1999 to Angus Cameron Stubbert (Toronto ON / St. Catharines ON); by descent to the current collection of William Burt (St. Catharines ON).

Literature: History in Their Blood: The Indian Portraits of Nicholas de Grandmaison (Hugh A. Dempsey; Douglas & McIntryre Ltd.; 1982); “Drawn from the Past: Nicholas de Grandmaison” (Gordon Snyder; Snyder Fine Arts; 2007)

Sitting Eagle (1874-1970), also known as John Hunter, was a noted patriarch of the Chiniki Band of the Stoney Nakoda Nation in Morley, Alberta. He spent most of his life on the Stoney Reserve, located between Calgary and Banff. He was respected for his business and ranching acumen, yet also for his great dedication to the traditional ways of his people. He was an advocate for his people’s interests and a diplomat for his tribe, once receiving the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Rt. Hon. Stanley Baldwin, in 1927. Chief Sitting Eagle was an artist and craftsman, admired for his tipi design and painting. He was involved with the Calgary Stampede for many years, and was commemorated by the Calgary Stampede Board in 1951 for his many contributions. He was also a long-term participant in “Banff Indian Days”, an event which ran from 1889-1974; over this time the Stoney people showcased their dancing and traditional ways during the event. In 1988, a monumental bronze honouring Chief Sitting Eagle, created by artist Don Begg, was erected in downtown Calgary (at 7 Ave. and 6 St. SW) in front of Encor Place.

Notes:

signed lower right; titled & dated “Sept 1943” verso

Provenance: Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary AB

Reference: “A Painter’s Country, The Autobiography of A. Y. Jackson” (Clarke, Irwin & Co. Ltd.; 1958)

A. Y. Jackson had an early Alberta connection, first visiting and sketching in the province circa 1914 along the Jasper/Mt. Robson border. Jackson regularly travelled to Southern Alberta to visit his elder brother Ernest, a judge, who lived in Lethbridge from 1906. While the landscape intrigued him, the artist noted the challenges of the Alberta landscape, and it was not until the fall of 1937, that the he embarked on his first major sketching trip in the province. In 1943, A.Y. Jackson accepted a summer teaching post at the Banff School of Fine Arts, a position he held until 1949. This position afforded Jackson a regular opportunity to paint the Alberta landscape, and his work from this period includes depictions of foothills, ranchlands, mountains and small towns.

In the chapter titled “Painting in the West” (pp. 146-153) of his autobiography, A. Y. Jackson discusses his time in the province and gives interesting insights into the landscape, from his artist’s perspective. He notes (pp. 146-7):

“In recent years the cowboy has almost disappeared and the West has become completely mechanized. However, the foothills of Alberta, with the mountains in the background, afford the artist endless material. The foregrounds are a problem, because so often there is nothing but a few weeds, scrub or stubble to get hold of.”

On pp. 148-9, Jackson reveals his deep understanding of, and connection to, the land he depicts. He provides a glimpse into how, as a mature artist, he is able to extract the visual richness from this Southern Alberta landscape:

“In the early thirties Alberta was beset by the years of drought; one could drive for miles and miles across land without seeing a blade of grass. Russian thistle and dwarf cactus seemed to be all that would grow there. Underneath the burned-up land was wealth untold, which only a few people then visualized. Hills rose from the prairies, range after range of them, and then the mountains rose abruptly out of the hills. Valleys with shallow streams at the bottom cut through the hills. The countryside offered all kinds of motifs for composition.”

Notes:

monogrammed lower right; signed, titled & dated on the stretcher verso

Provenance: Former collection of Ted and Phyllis Godwin, Calgary AB

Notes:

Provenance: Estate of the artist to Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary AB; Estate of James Brown (Calgary AB and Fairmont Hot Springs BC)

*Note: This major work was one of Gissing’s final paintings and it remained unfinished at the time of his death. Gissing’s contemporary, Duncan Mackinnon Crockford, agreed to complete the work, with the request facilitated by Gainsborough Galleries. This painting is accompanied by a letter (dated August 11, 1968) from Ester Gissing to the gallery, expressing her appreciation.

Notes:

signed lower right

Provenance: The Collector’s Gallery, Calgary AB

Notes:

signed lower right; titled verso (LO45740)
Exhibited: Alberta Society of Artists (label verso)

Notes:

signed faintly lower left

Provenance: Collection of the late D. M. (Don) Collinson, former son-in-law of the artist, and by descent to family.

Notes:

signed lower right; signed & titled verso