Nicholas De Grandmaison

Nicholas de Grandmaison (1892-1978) Chief signed "N. de Grandmaison" lower right pastel, 18 by 14 in. Nicholas de Grandmaison spent most of his artistic career in Banff, Alberta. He traveled extensively throughout the region, befriending native tribes and making pastel portraits of the people he met. His works are marked by the dignity and personality that he bestowed on each of his subjects. Provenance: The Finnell Family Trust

Lot # 129 Nicholas de Grandmaison ARCA OC 1892 - 1978 Canadian Blackfoot Indian pastel on velvet on board signed 25 x 20 in 63.5 x 50.8cm Provenance: Private Collection, Vancouver Literature: Hugh A. Dempsey, History in Their Blood: The Indian Portraits of Nicholas de Grandmaison, 1982, Introduction by J. Russell Harper, page 10 Nicholas de Grandmaison was born in Russia into an aristocratic family. After training in London, he emigrated to Canada in 1923. By 1927, he had found the subject that would be his life's work - portraits of the native peoples of the plains of western Canada and the northern United States. De Grandmaison was the last of a chain of artists who depicted native peoples, such as Cornelius Krieghoff and Paul Kane in Canada and, in America, George Catlin, Winold Reiss and W. Langdon Kihn. Traditional native life was ending and de Grandmaison felt the urgency to record these people - predominantly the Blackfoot (Blood), who had a large reserve east of Calgary, and the Assiniboine (Stoney). He chose sitters who were strong, pure representatives of their race, and his viewpoint was idealized and romantic. As Russell Harper wrote, "He found in them traits of superior beings who belonged among the world's aristocratic peoples and held their heads in haughty pride." Blackfoot Indian is a superb portrait - this man radiates strength, dignity and nobility, deftly portrayed in pastel, a medium of which de Grandmaison was a master.

Lot # 016 Nicholas de Grandmaison ARCA OC 1892 - 1978 Canadian Indian Mother and Child pastel on paper signed and on verso titled on the Roberts Gallery label 16 x 11 in 40.6 x 27.9cm Provenance: Roberts Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Ontario Estimate: $8,000 ~ $10,000 CAD Preview at: Heffel Fine Art Inc. Toronto

Lot # 313 Nicholas de Grandmaison ARCA OC 1892 - 1978 Canadian Papoose pastel on paper signed and on verso titled on the Roberts Gallery label 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 in 34.3 x 27.3cm Provenance: Roberts Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Ontario Estimate: $8,000 ~ $10,000 CAD Preview at: Heffel Fine Art Inc. Toronto

* Nicolas de Grandmaison (Canadian, 1892-1978) Young Indian pastel on sandpaper signed N. de Grandmaison (lower right) 15 x 11 inches. Estimate $ 12,000-18,000 Property from the Collection of Suzanne Moseley Synnott, Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts Some time staining, crease to paper in lower right. Sheet size: 20 x 14 3/4 inches.