Jean Albert Mcewen

Lot # 021 Jean Albert McEwen AANFM RCA 1923 - 1999 Canadian Rupture lumineuse oil on canvas signed and dated 1960 and on verso signed, titled on a label and titled Rupture Lumineux [sic] on the gallery label and dated 20-3-61 82 1/4 x 54 1/4 in 208.9 x 137.8cm Provenance: Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto Literature: Jean McEwen, "Their Objective Is Non-Objective", Weekend Magazine, 1956, Volume 6, #36, page 15 Jean McEwen stated, "There are two ways to judge a painting...One is based on criteria and theories of art. The second is based on the sensations we get before a picture. I paint the second way." If we use McEwen's criterion to judge this work, we would find it wonderfully hot, perhaps reminiscent of the inside of a beehive, the layers of yellow colours melting through one another like wax, while the vertical line of rusty red and the darker canvas borders contain the frenzy of the hive. His interests lay in spatial relations described through colour, and in this he was a master, blending layers of analogous colours in such subtle and rich layers that the resulting works are alive with pattern, texture and lyricism. McEwen's career was in full-flight in the 1960s. He continued to be included in the biennial exhibitions at the National Gallery of Canada and had won first prize in several important painting competitions in Quebec. He received a Canada Council Grant and held his first one-man show at Gallery Moos in Toronto, where the arresting presence of his work was noted by critics. Rupture lumineuse is fantastically rich, resonant and present. Its tones of gold, yellow and red evoke gold leafed frescos, ancient ruins and medieval manuscripts.

Lot # 016 Jean Albert McEwen AANFM RCA 1923 - 1999 Canadian Sans titre oil on canvas on verso signed twice, dated 1962, 1990 and 1993 and inscribed "#8" 45 x 38 in 114.3 x 96.5cm Provenance: Private Collection, Montreal Estimate: $15,000 ~ $20,000 CAD Preview at: Heffel Gallery Montreal

Lot # 216 Jean Albert McEwen AANFM RCA 1923 - 1999 Canadian Sans titre oil on canvas on verso signed twice, dated 1962, 1990 and 1993 and inscribed "#8" 45 x 38 in 114.3 x 96.5cm Provenance: Private Collection, Montreal Estimate: $15,000 ~ $20,000 CAD Preview at: Heffel Gallery Montreal

Lot # 017 Jean Albert McEwen AANFM RCA 1923 - 1999 Canadian Trou de m�moire oil on canvas 1992 signed and on verso inscribed #15 20 x 16 in 50.8 x 40.6cm Provenance: Private Collection, Montreal Estimate: $5,000 ~ $7,000 CAD Final bid: $5,500 CAD Preview at: Heffel Gallery Montreal

Lot # 017 Jean Albert McEwen AANFM RCA 1923 - 1999 Canadian Trou de mèmoire oil on canvas 1992 signed and on verso inscribed #15 20 x 16 in 50.8 x 40.6cm Provenance: Private Collection, Montreal Estimate: $5,000 ~ $7,000 CAD Preview at: Heffel Gallery Montreal