Illingworth Kerr

Notes:

signed lower left; signed, titled & dated on the stretcher verso
Provenance: From the collection of Margaret Irving Morton (Calgary/Edmonton AB), the original purchaser, and by descent to family; Frame/Craft Fine Art Gallery, Edmonton AB

Notes:

monogrammed lower right; signed, titled & dated on the stretcher verso
Provenance: Formerly from the corporate collection of Home Oil Ltd. / Devon Energy (Calgary AB)

Kerr was drawn to art as a boy, growing up in Lumsden, Saskatchewan. His first teacher was his mother, a watercolour artist, who encouraged him to pursue an artistic career. At age 14, the young artist entered a number of his works in the Regina Exhibition of 1919, earning 13 first prize awards, and gaining the confidence to go further. Kerr received his formal training in Toronto, at the Ontario College of Art (1923-1927), where his instructors included Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, Frederick Varley, and William Beatty. While the Group of Seven approach to painting was not expressly taught at OCA, Kerr was exposed to the ideals and philosophy of the Group. While in Toronto, he attended exhibitions and visited several studios, including those of A. Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris. Kerr was inspired to apply this non-traditional, emotive, and uniquely Canadian approach to landscape painting in Western Canada.

During his life, Kerr not only became an accomplished and respected artist, but an influential instructor and mentor for new generations of artists. In 1946, he accepted a teaching position at the Vancouver School of Art, and the following year moved to Calgary to head the Art Department at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (now Alberta University of the Arts). Under his 20-year tenure, Illingworth Kerr was largely responsible for the development of art education in Calgary. This responsibility and commitment constrained Kerr, and he was not able to paint full time until his retirement in 1967. At this stage, Kerr was able to approach his art with the freedom and perspective of a mature artist. He experimented with abstraction, with colour and brushwork, and finally began to feel personal satisfaction with his work, having gained the understanding that “the essence of a work of art is the product of a personality”. In his reflections, Kerr writes: “Some say, ‘Your subject does not matter; it’s what you do to it.’ I say what matters is what your subject does to you”. Nowhere is this clearer, that in Kerr’s nocturnes. During these later years, Kerr truly mastered the nuanced palette of the nocturne, blending hues to alternately elicit light and darken shadows. In this iconic scene of Elbow Falls, the starlight illuminates the rushing water and plays dramatically off the dark riverbanks. Kerr has embraced the black ground upon which he richly layers colour. Kerr wrote: “Black offered its void of space from which to move forward – or into which to retreat when external appearance of form threatened to mask the personality beneath”. Kerr’s late nocturnes are sublime renderings that succeed in capturing mood, atmosphere and the essence of a moment in a way unmatched by earlier works.

Reference: “Illingworth Kerr: Fifty Years a Painter”; Alberta College of Art; 1973.

Note: the corresponding sketch for this major canvas is offered in this sale as lot 161.

Notes:

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

Provenance: Estate of Bill and Peggy Code, Calgary AB

Reference: “Illingworth Kerr: Fifty Years a Painter” (Alberta College of Art; 1973).

Kerr, who was born and raised in Lumsden, Saskatchewan, received his first encouragement and instruction in the arts from his mother, a watercolour artist. As a budding artist, he won numerous first prize awards at his first show (in 1919) at the Regina Exhibition. In 1923, Kerr headed to Toronto to obtain a formal art education at the Ontario College of Art, where his instructors included Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, Frederick Varley, and William Beatty. While the Group of Seven’s approach was not expressly taught at OCA, Kerr was exposed to the ideals of the Group through his attendance at various exhibitions and studios. Kerr returned to his prairie home, embracing the ideal of creating a uniquely Canadian expression of landscape, and his focus over his decades long career remained on the Prairies – namely Saskatchewan and Alberta.

In 1947 Kerr moved to Calgary to head the Art Department of the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (now Alberta University of the Arts and SAIT). Under his 20-year tenure, Kerr lay the foundation for art instruction in Alberta and had far-reaching influence as an instructor and mentor. Kerr was only able to fully dedicate himself to his art following his retirement from the Institute. During these years he often painted in the the foothills and natural areas outside Calgary. The proximity to the mountains, foothills and prairie gave him ample opportunity to continuing exploring the “answer to Western space with its vast scale, its power of mood rather than tangible forms”.

In 1973, Kerr was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. In 1975, a retrospective of his work was held at the gallery of the Alberta College of Art (later renamed the Illingworth Kerr Gallery). This exhibition subsequently toured to Regina and Saskatoon. In 1983, he was named to the Order of Canada. In 1985, a major retrospective of Kerr’s work “Harvest of the Spirit” debuted at the Edmonton Art Gallery before continuing on to nine Canadian cities. Kerr remains unmatched in his contributions to the modern expression of the prairie and foothills landscape.

Notes:

monogrammed recto; signed, titled & dated verso

Born and raised in Lumsden, Saskatchewan, Kerr began drawing an early age and his mother, who painted in watercolour, taught him what little she could and encouraged the idea of being an artist. In 1919, a number of Kerr’s works were entered into the Regina Exhibition – he received 13 first prize awards. In 1923, Kerr headed to Toronto seeking a formal art education, which he obtained at the Ontario College of Art; his teachers included Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, Frederick Varley, and William Beatty. While the Group of Seven approach to painting was not taught, Kerr was exposed to the ideals of the Group at various exhibitions and studio visits. After returning home, Kerr was moved to contribute to the rendering of a uniquely Canadian landscape, “Since the Group of Seven had passed up the prairie I thought someone should do something about it.” However, Kerr was unprepared for the artistic challenges posed by the unique landscape of the Prairie, namely the open spaces and wide horizon. During the depression, Kerr had a handful of exhibitions but few sales. In 1936, feeling defeated and isolated, Kerr burned most of his paintings from that period and left for England. Ten nomadic years followed, working in film, art, and writing. Of his time, Kerr remembers “my ardent nationalism went down the drain; yet I never quite relinquished the dream of painting the prairie as I felt it should be done.”

In 1946, Kerr accepted a teaching position at the Vancouver School of Art, and the following year moved to Calgary to head the Art Department at the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (now ACAD and SAIT). Under his 20-year tenure, Kerr lay the foundation for the Alberta College of Art, and had far-reaching influence as an instructor and mentor.
Kerr could not paint full time until his retirement in 1967. Though his proximity to the mountains, foothills and prairie drew his brush as he continued to seek the “answer to Western space with its vast scale, its power of mood rather than tangible forms”. Kerr experimented with abstraction, with colour and brushwork. With increased freedom, and the wisdom of a mature artist, Kerr began to feel satisfaction with his work and the understanding that “the essence of a work of art is the product of a personality”.
In 1973, Kerr was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary. In 1975, a retrospective of his work was presented at the gallery of the Alberta College of Art (later renamed the Illingworth Kerr Gallery). This exhibition subsequently toured to Regina and Saskatoon. In 1983, he was named to the Order of Canada. In 1985, a major retrospective of Kerr’s work “Harvest of the Spirit” debuted at the Edmonton Art Gallery before continuing on to nine Canadian cities.
“Few painters have been closer to the Prairies than Illingworth Kerr….Illingworth Kerr is, in a sense, a regional painter, fully aware of what is being accomplished elsewhere. He has made some of the most successful interpretations of Prairie landscape ever achieved – translating the Prairie into contemporary idioms.” — Maxwell Bates
Note: Excerpts from “Illingworth Kerr: Fifty Years a Painter” (Alberta College of Art; 1973).

Notes:

signed & titled
Exhibited: “Qu’Appelle: Tale of Two Valleys” touring exhibition (2002-2003): Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon; McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg; Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina. Cat. No. 122. Illustrated p. 83 of the book published to accompany the exhibition, “Qu’Appelle: Tale of Two Valleys” (2002, Mendel Art Gallery).
Provenance: Collection of John Nugent (Artist, Educator), Lumsden, SK, by descent through the family.
Note: This painting was acquired by John Nugent directly from Kerr, who was living in Lumsden at the time. After a rocky start to their relationship and upon Kerr learning that Nugent was a fellow artist, Kerr paid him a visit, gifting this painting as a peace offering. The two went on to develop a friendship. The landscape depicted in this painting is of an area just outside Lumsden.

Notes:

monogrammed lower left; signed, titled and dated on the stretcher verso

Provenance: Masters Gallery, Calgary AB (label verso)