Jean McEwen Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Jean McEwen Art Value Price Guide

Jun. 28, 2024
Jean Albert MCEWEN (1923-1999)
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Jean Albert MCEWEN (1923-1999) ; Abstract ; 10.12.1962 ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 59 x 59 cm (23 1/4 x 23 1/4 in.) ; signed and dated lower left corner and on verso ; Shipping to USA - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $185 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $230 , National post with tracking service $115
Art-Torg
Jun. 27, 2024
Jean Albert McEwen, RCA (1923-1999), UNTITLED (AQUARELLE), 1964
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
Jean Albert McEwen, RCA (1923-1999), Canadian UNTITLED (AQUARELLE), 1964 signed and dated "64" lower right; titled and dated to gallery labels verso Estimate: $3,000—5,000 CAD
Waddington's
Mar. 23, 2024
Jean McEwen, Untitled, Limited Edition Print
Est: $20 - $30
Jean McEwen, Untitled, Limited edition print. A light blue banner with some darker blue patterns. This piece has been previously framed and there is some evidence of fading in the borders. There is also some slight creasing in the top middle, near the image. It is signed in the lower right and numbered 4/25 in the lower left. It is in reasonable condition. Image: 23" x 30". Paper: 26" x 38 1/2".
Oakwood Auctions
Dec. 12, 2023
McEwen, Jean Albert - Abstraction - 1981
Est: $800 - $1,200
McEwen, Jean Albert (1923-1999) Abstraction (1981) Description: Watercolor on paper signed on the fron lower right McEwen 81 Dimension (PO): 16" x 12" Dimension (CM): 40 x 30 cm Condition report: Upon request, We will gladly answer all your inquiries in a detailed manner.
Champagne Auctions
Dec. 08, 2023
Jean Albert MCEWEN (1923-1999) Canadian
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Jean Albert MCEWEN (1923-1999) ; Abstract ; 10.12.1962 ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 59 x 59 cm (23 1/4 x 23 1/4 in.) ; signed and dated lower left corner and on verso ; Shipping to USA - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $185 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $230 , National post with tracking service $115
Art-Torg
Apr. 07, 2023
Jean Albert MCEWEN (1923-1999) Canadian
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Jean Albert MCEWEN (1923-1999) Canadian ; Abstract ; 10.12.1962 ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 59 x 59 cm (23 1/4 x 23 1/4 in.) ; signed and dated lower left corner and on verso ; Shipping to USA - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $185 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $230 , National post with tracking service $115
Art-Torg
Aug. 12, 2022
Jean Albert MCEWEN (1923-1999) Canada
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Jean Albert MCEWEN (1923-1999) ; Abstract ; 10.12.1962 ; oil on canvas / framed ; dimensions 59 x 59 cm (23 1/4 x 23 1/4 in.) ; signed and dated lower left corner and on verso ; Shipping to USA - DHL $330 , National post with tracking service $185 / Shipping to EU, Russia, Middle Assia - DHL $230 , National post with tracking service $115
Art-Torg
Sep. 29, 2021
Jean McEwen (Canadian, 1923-1999) "Courbes de Nuit"
Est: $300 - $400
Jean McEwen (Canadian, 1923-1999) "Courbes de Nuit", lithograph on paper, ed. 247/250, 1974. Signed and dated in pencil. Framed.
Peter Estey Fine Art & Auctions
Mar. 09, 2021
McEwen, Jean Albert - Abstraction - 1974
Est: $500 - $1,000
McEwen, Jean Albert (1923-1999) Abstraction (1974) Description (FR): Lithographie sur papier, épreuve d'artiste, signée et datée en bas à droite McEwen 74 Description (EN): Lithograph on paper, artist proof, signed and dated on lower right McEwen 74 Dimension (PO): 28" x 22" Dimension (CM): 71.12 x 55.88 cm Rapport de condition: Sur demande, nous nous ferons un plaisir de répondre à vos questions de manière détaillée. Condition report: Upon request, We will gladly answer all your inquiries in a detailed manner.
Champagne Auctions
Sep. 17, 2020
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., COMPAGNON DE SILENCE #1, 1973, oil on canvas, 72 ins x 72 ins; 182.9 cms x 182.9 cms
Est: $70,000 - $90,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. COMPAGNON DE SILENCE #1, 1973 oil on canvas signed, titled, and dated to the flap 72 ins x 72 ins; 182.9 cms x 182.9 cms Provenance: Marlborough-Godard, Toronto/Montreal The Helen and Walter Zwig Foundation Collection, Toronto Compagnon de Silence #1 was produced the same year that Jean McEwen began to dedicate himself solely to painting, and is a potent demonstration of his expressive mastery of the medium. Using glossy, translucent layers of thick paint, McEwen creates a subtle and absorbing play of colour and emotion. The central space is dominated by warm, roiling browns that emerge from painted layers of steamy white fogs. Green bars at the edges of the canvas radiate with the vivid patina of weathered copper, bounding and structuring the piece with a burnished glow. Half-buried furrows of verdigris emerge from the deep-hued expanse. The larger-than-life field seems to flex and push outwards against the squared-off canvas, resisting a neat geometric structure. The overall effect is a visual encounter that is both dynamic and contemplative, perhaps even meditative. Estimate: $70,000–90,000
Waddington's
Sep. 17, 2020
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., MIROIR SANS IMAGE, VERT - NUMBER 5, C.1971, oil on canvas, 40 ins x 40 ins; 101.6 cms x 101.6 cms
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. MIROIR SANS IMAGE, VERT - NUMBER 5, C.1971 oil on canvas signed and titled to the overflap 40 ins x 40 ins; 101.6 cms x 101.6 cms Provenance: Galerie Agnès Lefort, Montreal Private Collection, Montreal In 1971, Jean McEwen returned to painting in oil after a period spent using acrylics with a series called Miroir Sans Image (Imageless Mirror). The clear representation of a “frame” with golden corners surrounds the central layers of paint. This lot, Vert - Number 5, showcases small hints of bright turquoise that peek out from darker layers of varnished forest green. The subtle variation of greens - from subdued on the frame portion, to verdant across the central square - creates the impression of a painting that is alive, breathing, and swelling outward from the centre. Estimate: $40,000–60,000
Waddington's
Sep. 17, 2020
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., LES JARDINS D'AUBE M9, 1976, oil on canvas, 50 ins x 50 ins; 127 cms x 127 cms
Est: $40,000 - $50,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. LES JARDINS D'AUBE M9, 1976 oil on canvas signed, titled and dated '76 to the overflap 50 ins x 50 ins; 127 cms x 127 cms Provenance: Marlborough-Godard, Toronto and Montreal Private Collection, Montreal Literature: Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1951-1987. Montréal: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1987, p. 167. Never formally trained as a painter, Jean McEwen’s practice was formed through influential relationships with Paul-Émile Borduas, Jean-Paul Riopelle, and Sam Francis, while taking inspiration from Colour Field painters such as Mark Rothko. This work, produced while he was painting full-time and at the height of his career, is an exceptional demonstration of his mature practice, with characteristic emphasis on the vibrant play of colour and the structural potential of pigment and medium. Translucent tissue-paper slides of colour are built up in stratified layers on an uneasy, recessed ground. The result is a work structured through depths of colour, as opacity and luminosity work in tension with each other: the work reveals and conceals itself, creating a mesmerizing, forceful play of effervescent colour. The canvas is dominated by a pair of hazy, roiling off-white forms, bisecting the work like the wings of a gateway, and partially concealing the mottled black mass anchored at the centre of the piece. Luminescent reds and ochres seething in the background, and whispy white drifts floating across the upper corners defy attempts to bound the work. “The artist comprehends space solely through colour”, says Naubert-Riser. “He succeeds in establishing a tension between all the stratified planes by leaving their boundaries only partially defined.” 1 Les Jardins d’Aube M9 is a vivid example of the artist’s energetic and radiant use of colour as the central force of painting. 1Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1951-1987. Montréal: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1987, p. 167. Estimate: $40,000–50,000
Waddington's
Sep. 24, 2019
MCEWEN, JEAN ALBERT - ABSTRACTION - 1974
Est: $500 - $1,000
McEwen, Jean Albert (1923-1999) Abstraction (1974) Lithographie sur papier, épreuve d'artiste, signée et datée en bas à droite McEwen 74 Lithograph on paper, artist proof, signed and dated on lower right McEwen 74 28" x 22" - 71.12 x 55.88 cm Rapport de condition : Sur demande, nous nous ferons un plaisir de répondre à vos questions de manière détaillée. Condition Report : Upon request, We will gladly answer all your inquiries in a detailed manner.
Champagne Auctions
May. 26, 2019
Jean McEwen, Élégie criblée de bleu n° 7, 1986
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
Oil on canvasxHuile sur toile
BYDealers Auction House
May. 26, 2019
Jean McEwen, Les contes arabes n° 2, 1964
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
Oil on canvasxHuile sur toile
BYDealers Auction House
Feb. 01, 2018
JEAN ALBERT McEWEN (CANADIAN, 1923-1999), SAN TITRE, COLOUR SCREEN PRINT; SIGNED AND NUMBERED II/V IN PENCIL (Image, 15.3” x 12.3”) (Sheet, 22” x 18”) Note: small knick to paper edge right side, see photo.
Est: $150 - $200
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN (CANADIAN, 1923-1999) SAN TITRECOLOUR SCREEN PRINT; SIGNED AND NUMBERED II/V IN PENCIL (Image, 15.3” x 12.3”) (Sheet, 22” x 18”) Note: small knick to paper edge right side, see photo.Estimate: $150—200
Waddington's
Nov. 20, 2017
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., BEIGE, NOIR, BRUN, acrylic on canvas, 52 ins x 46 ins; 132.1 cms x 116.8 cms
Est: $9,000 - $12,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.BEIGE, NOIR, BRUNacrylic on canvassigned and dated 1965; also signed and dated on the reverse, titled on the overflap and inscribed “Mais que pour marcher droit, Tu chausses Muse, un cothurne étroit - Gautier” 52 ins x 46 ins; 132.1 cms x 116.8 cms Provenance:Private Collection, TorontoThe inscription on the reverse comes from a stanza in Theophile Gautier’s poem Art. There are many translations of this poem but one version interprets it as: “For false rules, we’ve no use! But to go straight as an arrow, Muse, your shoes need to be narrow.” Gautier (1811-1872) was, among other pursuits, a very highly esteemed poet, dramatist and art critic.Estimate: $9,000–12,000
Waddington's
Oct. 26, 2017
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN (CANADIAN, 1923-1999), SANS TITRE, COLOUR SCREEN PRINT; SIGNED AND NUMBERED 11/20 IN PENCIL; UNFRAMED - SHRINK WRAPPED. (Image, 15” x 12”) (Sheet, 21.8” x 18”)
Est: $150 - $200
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN (CANADIAN, 1923-1999)SANS TITRECOLOUR SCREEN PRINT; SIGNED AND NUMBERED 11/20 IN PENCIL; UNFRAMED - SHRINK WRAPPED. (Image, 15” x 12”) (Sheet, 21.8” x 18”)Estimate: $150—200
Waddington's
May. 29, 2017
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., COMPOSITION, 20 ins x 20 ins; 50.8 cms x 50.8 cms
Est: $25,000 - $30,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.COMPOSITIONsigned; also signed and dated “24.11.62” on the reverse20 ins x 20 ins; 50.8 cms x 50.8 cmsProvenance:Private Collection, MontrealLiterature:Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, 1987, pages 19 and 39.Note:In the introductory essay to the 1987 exhibition "Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth" at The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Constance Naubert-Riser writes: “Colour and its relationship to two dimensional space is, of course, the subject of all painting. How, though, can a flat surface convert a sense of depth without the traditional devices of perspective and chiarcoscuro?" Naubert-Riser's examination and analysis of the work of Jean McEwen (1923-1999) aspired to demonstrate precisely how the artist embraced this challenge and "revealed the qualities of depth inherent in (colour)."This lot falls within the early years of McEwen's search for personal solutions to the colour-depth enigma. Others had tackled this quandary, too, and McEwen was certainly aware of the resolutions suggested by American colour field painters. Many McEwens from 1957 onward bear titles that serve to situate them within a specific series. Such titles were not meant to act as a reference to subject - though this is often misunderstood by those unfamiliar with McEwen's intentions - but were instead themselves acts of poetry. Composition from 1962, while untitled, is not without its rich subject: colour, freed from any objective associations. But it was also McEwen's ambition to solve certain formal problems relating to depth. Here, McEwen is seen introducing a strong vertical element that bifurcates Composition, 1962 into two cells. The vertical element reveals and emphasizes the layers of paint that support the painting's structure. Naubert-Riser draws our attention to this "stratification of superimposed layers" which the vertical element and the drips along the bottom edge emphasize. Both devices compel the viewer to acknowledge the structure of the painting. The extraordinary colours register now in terms of their opacity and translucence which further enhance our sense of the painting’s depth (and could it not be argued that McEwen has borrowed from the tenets of atmospheric perspective?).While it was never McEwen's stated intention "to burden his paintings with transcendental meaning," it is quite impossible to consider these works for any length of time, whether fleeting or extended, and not experience something that borders on spiritual.Estimate: $25,000—30,000
Waddington's
May. 30, 2016
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., BLASON DU CHEVALIER ROUGE, oil on canvas, 39 ins x 39 ins; 99.1 cms x 99.1 cms
Est: $70,000 - $90,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.BLASON DU CHEVALIER ROUGEoil on canvassigned and dated ‘62 on the reverse 39 ins x 39 ins; 99.1 cms x 99.1 cms Provenance:Kaspar Gallery, TorontoPrivate Collection, MontrealLiterature:Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, 1987, pages 39, 41 and 157.Note:In the early 1960s, Jean McEwen’s star was on the rise. He had already firmly established his reputation in Montreal and had captured the interest of Toronto gallerist Walter Moos, who, in turn, introduced McEwen to New York dealer Martha Jackson. McEwen’s painting from this period has as its primary concern the relationship between colour and structure. While other artists, including Mark Rothko, had explored this subject before, Constance Naubert-Riser maintains McEwen was nonetheless “able to retain his autonomy and settle on a personal approach to the colour-structure problem.”Blason shares many characteristics with other works McEwen executed at this time. Colour layers both conceal and reveal each other, a vertical spine both anchors the painting and bisects it into two balanced but not necessarily symmetric cells. Thin rivulets of watery paint at the bottom of the composition - a clear indication of the work’s orientation - coexist and contrast with rich impasto. Varnish and oil are applied (likely by hand) in layers that are “by turn transparent and opaque.” Naubert-Riser notes that there are sometimes as many as twelve superimposed layers.While McEwen produced related Blason works experimenting with different colours for the main field - the National Gallery of Canada owns Blason du Chevalier Violet from 1962 - the red works remain the most sought after by collectors.
Waddington's
Apr. 03, 2016
Jean Albert McEwen, Ni plus, ni moins
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
Ni plus, ni moins (etching, 46" x 34")
Westbridge Fine Art Auction House
Aug. 27, 2015
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN (CANADIAN, 1923-1999), SANS TITRE, COLOUR LITHOGRAPH; SIGNED AND NUMBERED 11/20 IN PENCIL; UNFRAMED - SHRINK WRAPPED. (Image, 15” x 12”) (Sheet, 21.8” x 18”)
Est: -
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN (CANADIAN, 1923-1999)SANS TITRE, COLOUR LITHOGRAPH; SIGNED AND NUMBERED 11/20 IN PENCIL; UNFRAMED - SHRINK WRAPPED. (Image, 15” x 12”) (Sheet, 21.8” x 18”)Estimate: $200—300
Waddington's
Jun. 10, 2015
Jean Albert MCEWEN (Canadian 1923 - 1999)
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
ELEGIE CRIBLEE DE ROSE, #9 oil on canvas, signed and dated '87 - '88 verso. Canvas size: 87" x 78" / 221cm x 198.1cm. Overall: 88 1/4" x 79 1/4" / 224.2cm x 201.3cm.Waddington and Gorce (Montreal) Gallery label verso.
A. H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals
Jun. 10, 2015
Jean Albert MCEWEN R.C.A. (Canadian 1923 - 1999)
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
UNTITLED: abstract, oil on canvas, signed lower right, signed and dated 1963 in pencil verso. Canvas size: 24" x 20" / 61cm x 50.8cm.Overall: 25 1/2" x 21 1/2" / 64.8cm x 54.6cm.
A. H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals
May. 25, 2015
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., SUITE DES PAYS VASTES, oil on canvas, 20 ins x 20 ins; 50.8 cms x 50.8 cms
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. SUITE DES PAYS VASTES oil on canvassigned, titled, and dated '72 on the reverse 20 ins x 20 ins; 50.8 cms x 50.8 cms Provenance:Galerie Simon Blais, MontrealPrivate Collection, TorontoLiterature:Simon Blais and Roald Nasgaard, Rétrospective Jean McEwen, Éditions Simon Blais, Montreal, 2004, page 26 for a closely related work entitled Suites des pays vastes, 1972.Note:Born in Montreal in 1923, Jean McEwen is most recognized for his colour-field and heavily texturized works. Exploring both the sensory effects of colour and its relationship to structure, McEwen shaped his surfaces into richly layered formations. He applied masses of paint to his surfaces directly by hand, teasing out and building up topographical impastos with a palette knife. Various pigments are worked directly into the varnish, creating a shimmer or translucence. The resulting effect is one of grandeur and luminosity. Suite des Pays Vastes (as with other, similarly titled works) appears before the viewer like a crystallized formation. Like a celestial body of silver and gold, McEwen's canvas captures a moment of metallic exuberance.
Waddington's
Dec. 05, 2013
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.
Est: $7,000 - $9,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. LES CONTINENTS FLEURIS #15, oil on canvas; titled and dated 1974-75 on the gallery label on the reverse 12 ins x 12 ins; 30.5 cms x 30.5 cms Provenance: Marlborough-Godard Gallery, Toronto/Montreal
Waddington's
Nov. 27, 2013
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., THE UNKNOWN FLAG, THIRD THEME, #5, 1964, oil on canvas, 72 ins x 54 ins; 182.9 cms x 137.2 cms
Est: $80,000 - $120,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.THE UNKNOWN FLAG, THIRD THEME, #5, 1964, oil on canvas; signed, dated '64 on the reverse and inscribed "troisieme theme no.5" on the stretcher 72 ins x 54 ins; 182.9 cms x 137.2 cms Provenance: Gallery Moos, TorontoThe Estate of a Private Collector, Los AngelesLiterature: Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen Colour in Depth, The Paintings and Works on Paper 1951-1987, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1987, pages 44-46.Note: Naubert-Riser writes that in early 1964, using the cruciform as his departure point (see lot 47), "McEwen created a key series that was the culmination of all his previous investigations." She continues: "This whole series (The Unknown Flag or Drapeau Inconnu) is notable for its high degree of rigour...McEwen varies and increases the tension between the central form and the four corners. Extremely rich reds dominate the series and are combined, in numerous stratified layers, with mauves, blues and oranges. The intensity of the colour, in conjunction with the rigour of the composition gives rise to a controlled exuberance that is reinforced by the 'painterly' treatment of the impasto involving the 'kneading' with a trowel of layers of pigments applied over a layer of varnish."McEwen often applied paint with his hands, forgoing the paintbrush, and worked the surface of the painting until, in the words of one observer, "...it seemed to vibrate like a drum." McEwen himself spoke of "rubbing the colour into the varnish" in order to obtain unique effects of transparency.Only 23 paintings comprise this series.
Waddington's
Nov. 27, 2013
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A., LE PREMIER MOULIN DE MYKONOS, oil on canvas, 50 ins x 50 ins; 127 cms x 127 cms
Est: $40,000 - $50,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.LE PREMIER MOULIN DE MYKONOS, oil on canvas; signed, titled and dated "November '63" on the reverse 50 ins x 50 ins; 127 cms x 127 cms Provenance: The Estate of Oscar Peterson, OntarioLiterature: Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen Colour in Depth, The Paintings and Works on Paper 1951-1987, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1987, pages 39 and 44.Note: Colour in Depth, the apropos title of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' 1987-88 retrospective of Jean McEwen's work was the artist's sole focus for 30 years: the question of how a flat surface could , without the traditional devices of perspective and shading (chiaroscuro), create depth. As early as 1955, McEwen identified an approach that would determine the course of his efforts for years to come. Naubert-Riser explains: "...[his] painting would be closely identified with the two-dimensionality of its support, and the logic intrinsic to the canvas would now determine the organization of its planes." She continues: [1963] was a year of significant transition...what can be discerned is a gradual movement away from the dominant vertical composition towards a cruciform structure. The introduction of the cruciform shape onto the pictorial plane allowed the artist to bring into surface evidence an element of support: the cross-shaped struts across which the canvas is stretched. The far corners and their relationship with the central shape became, for a time, the focal point of McEwen's investigation."
Waddington's
Nov. 26, 2013
Jean Albert McEwen RCA (Canadian 1923 - 1999)
Est: $30,000 - $40,000
ODEUR DE JAUNE Unsigned Oil on canvas 39" X 39"Gallery Moos label verso, 1961
A. H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals
Nov. 26, 2012
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.SANS TITRE, watercolour; signed and dated /62 14 ins x 10 ins; 35 cms x 25 cms
Est: $3,000 - $4,000
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A.SANS TITRE, watercolour; signed and dated /62 14 ins x 10 ins; 35 cms x 25 cms $3,000-4,000
Waddington's
Nov. 22, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas La folie conduisant l'amour 20 1/8 x 20 1/8 inches 51.1 x 51.1 centimeters on verso signed, titled and dated 1967 Provenance:Galerie Agnès Lefort, Montreal Private Collection, Montreal Jean McEwen's work in the late 1950s and into the 1960s and 1970s was concerned primarily with colour. His works ranged from white on white paintings to those with multiple layers of surging, saturated colour. His surfaces also ranged in type from those with smooth, thinly applied layers of oil paint to works with thickly vibrating impastos. His interest in colour, space, line and their relation one to the other within the confines of a canvas is completely engaging, and the results are both visually stimulating and enduringly beautiful. In La folie conduisant l'amour, we have the added interest of the title, which translates as Madness Leading Love. While at first we might find the powerful contrast of the blackish purple and intense red maddening, in prolonged study of them we are beguiled by the interplay of the two colours. Importantly, they are divided by a thin band of violet, which serves to mediate the two, a chromatic marriage counsellor of sorts, settling the two dominant colours into a delightful harmony.
Heffel
Nov. 22, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Blason du chevalier jaune 39 x 39 inches 99 x 99 centimeters on verso signed, titled and dated 1962 Literature:Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen, Colour in Depth, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1987, a similar 1962 oil entitled Blason du chevalier violet no. 2 reproduced page 78 Provenance:Gallery Moos Ltd., Toronto Private Collection, Montreal In 1962, through dealer Walter Moos, who had organized Jean McEwen's first solo show in Toronto, Ewen met prominent New York dealer Martha Jackson. She acquired his works for her gallery and committed to a one man show for the following year. McEwen worked on a number of series in 1962, including Blason du chevalier, which translates as "the coat of arms of the knight". Such titles were not meant to be taken literally but, as Constance Naubert-Riser writes, more as "evidence of a poetic attitude....." meant "to spark off poetic images or simply memories." McEwen superimposes layers of colours, both transparent and opaque, whose interaction produces depth. The beauty of his hues is exquisite, with the incandescent gold flickering over the rich chocolate brown background. The line bisecting the picture plane asserts a vertical direction reinforced by the drips at the bottom edge, while the edge of a square on the left is like the edge of a window into the dark, mysterious background. Opulent and radiant, Blason du chevalier jaune is an outstanding canvas by this important Montreal abstractionist.
Heffel
Nov. 22, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on
Est: $25,000 - $35,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Tableau de la Nuit de Noël 20 x 20 inches 50.8 x 50.8 centimeters signed and on verso signed, titled ""Tableau de la Nuit de Noöl"" [sic] and dated 1970 Provenance:Private Collection, Toronto What are we to make of the title of this gorgeous little painting? There it is, written in the artist's hand on the back of the painting, Tableau de la Nuit de Noël; and once we know that, a gamut of Christmas associations fill our memories - of family celebrations, of Père Noël and present giving, of carol singing, Midnight Mass and the joyful elevation of the spirit. But titles are not necessarily reliable guides to the subject matter when it comes to abstract art, and abstract painters mostly avoid them. Jean McEwen, however, rarely shied away from titles. Sometimes he applied them merely as formal descriptions, naming the colours or pointing to some structural feature. But just as often he seems to want to evoke a more specific kind of content, consciously predisposing our perceptions and interpretations of a painting's visual appearance and emotional resonances. But what do these almost automatically triggered romantic Christmas nostalgias really have to do with McEwen's painting? After all, is Tableau de la Nuit de Noël not an abstract painting, or ostensibly so? It is a simple flattened tripartite composition, with a centrally placed column whose somber brownish green has been starkly contrasted to the swirling, patchy all-over colour patterns that fill the flanking fields. These are dominated by a smoldering rich orange-red and a sumptuous cobalt blue whose opulence is emboldened by the darkness at the painting's centre. The paint surface itself is quite palpable, stirring touch as much as sight.The painting is, and remains, a tangible object. But within the swirls and smears and beds of its layers of paint, the eye soon conjures forth illusory and mysterious spaces, with shallows to shun and depths to probe, while searing light shines from behind occluding shadows. Suddenly, prey to some other personal disposition, I wish for a different title - Winter Twilight, perhaps. The central column, densely brownish green and here and there modulated by little dabs of brighter colours, now rises like the roughly barked trunk of a stolid tree. Emanating away from the tree trunk spreads a thicket of intertwining branches through which glows the red light of the late afternoon setting sun. The shadow side of this forest screen, dominating the foreground picture plane, has been blued by the mystical northern twilight. It is not a fanciful reading. During McEwen's formative year as an abstract painter in Paris, in the company of Jean Paul Riopelle and the American painter Sam Francis, he had participated in the rediscovery of the almost forgotten late work of Claude Monet from Giverny. For McEwen, it was not so much the water lily paintings that mattered, but Monet's pictures of weeping willow trees. In these, central trunks sprout light-dappled amorphous masses of foliage whose pattern of light and shadow satiate the space and surface of his canvases from edge to edge. In 1973, not that long after the execution of Tableau de la Nuit de Noël, McEwen told the critic Fernande Saint-Martin that he had worked out how to express the vibration of colour in his paintings from looking at "the lattice of lights and shadows that formed by the crossing of light through branches and leaves." Is the title of Tableau de la Nuit de Noël best left untranslated? Perhaps it is not literally a "tableau," or a "painting" or a "picture" of Christmas Eve, but instead a painting made on the occasion of la Nuit de Noël. Is it not rather a "tableau", like a "tableau d'autel", an altarpiece - a triptych even - but one in which the artist, instead of telling traditional stories, offers us a resplendent vision of sublime nature as a secular equivalent to the December season's longing for spiritual transcendence? We thank Roald Nasgaard, author of Abstract Painting in Canada, for contributing the above essay.
Heffel
Nov. 22, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on
Est: $60,000 - $80,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Rupture lumineuse 82 1/4 x 54 1/4 inches 208.9 x 137.8 centimeters 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 Literature:Jean McEwen, "Their Objective Is Non-Objective", Weekend Magazine, 1956, Volume 6, #36, page 15 Provenance:Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto 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.
Heffel
Sep. 27, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Trou de mémoire
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Trou de mémoire 20 x 16 inches 50.8 x 40.6 centimeters signed and on verso inscribed ""#15"" Provenance: Private Collection, Montreal
Heffel
Sep. 27, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Sans titre
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Sans titre 45 x 38 inches 114.3 x 96.5 centimeters on verso signed twice, dated 1962, 1990 and 1993 and inscribed ""#8"" Provenance: Private Collection, Montreal
Heffel
Sep. 13, 2012
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. SANS TITRE, colour
Est: $400 - $600
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. SANS TITRE, colour lithograph; signed and numbered 11/20, unframed 15 ins x 12 ins; 37.5 cms x 30 cms
Waddington's
Sep. 13, 2012
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. SANS TITRE, colour
Est: $800 - $1,200
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN, R.C.A. SANS TITRE, colour lithograph; signed, dated 1967 and numbered 23/25 in the margin, unframed 30 ins x 23 ins; 75 cms x 57.5 cms
Waddington's
May. 31, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Sans titre
Est: $15,000 - $20,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Sans titre 45 x 38 inches 114.3 x 96.5 centimeters on verso signed twice, dated 1962, 1990 and 1993 and inscribed "#8" Provenance:Private Collection, Montreal
Heffel
May. 17, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on
Est: $45,000 - $55,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Compagnon de silence #2 39 x 39 inches 99 x 99 centimeters on verso signed, titled and dated 1973 Literature:Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1951 - 1987, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1987, page 38 Provenance:Marlborough-Godard, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto The year 1973 was an important one for Jean McEwen, as he resigned from his position at the pharmaceutical company Charles E. Frosst & Co. to devote his time to his art. In this year he executed the series Compagnon de silence, prominently featured in the exhibition Jean McEwen: 1953 - 1973 at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. McEwen wrote in his artist's book Cul de lampe: "A painting is created from rhythm, form, space, light, shade and colour - but it is the feeling, the poetry of the painter that produces the harmony." The title Compagnon de silence is taken from the poem Le bois amical by Paul Valéry, clearly establishing the strong alliance between pictorial image, poetic memory and the personal expression of McEwen. The luminous surface of Compagnon de silence #2 shows McEwen's sensitive exploration of space through the layering of colour fields and exudes the emotive properties of colour itself. The luscious tones and sheer sensuality of his paint surfaces are seductive beyond measure. In November 2010, Heffel set a new auction record for McEwen with the sale of the large canvas from this series, entitled Compagnon de silence.
Heffel
May. 17, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on
Est: $10,000 - $15,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Le drapeau écorché, phase 2, no. 12 (Trou de mémoire) 60 x 60 inches 152.4 x 152.4 centimeters signed and dated 1992 and on verso signed, titled variously and dated on the canvas and 1986 on the gallery labels Literature:Constance Naubert-Riser, Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth: Paintings and Works on Paper, 1951 - 1987, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1987, page 50 Provenance:Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Rental & Sales Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Montreal In the 1960s Jean McEwen produced a series of works entitled Le drapeau inconnu (The Unknown Flag). In the mid-1980s another related series emerged - Le drapeau écorché (The Slaughtered Flag), of which this is a stunning example. Common to both these series were hot reds and blazing yellows, as in this incandescent golden work. McEwen's brilliance as a colourist is in full play, as his central colour is enlivened with orange, pink and mauve, contrasted with background tones of green. Constance Naubert-Riser writes, "It is only after an examination of all the works in this series that the full critical significance of the title emerges: these 'slaughtered flags' are a reformulation of the problem of underlying structure treated so brilliantly in the 'unknown flags' series. The result of this reformulation is the complete obliteration of the central structure and a reassertion of the nonetheless increasingly threatened margins. So the element of diversity is back in force - the element that is ultimately the uniting feature of this oeuvre and the central paradox of all painting."
Heffel
May. 17, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Étude pour Murale Place des Arts 20 x 20 inches 50.8 x 50.8 centimeters signed and on verso signed, titled and dated September 1966 - 1967 Provenance:Private Collection, Ontario Jean McEwen was experienced with large-scale commissions, as he had completed a five-panel work for the Toronto International Airport in 1963 and designed a series of stained glass pieces for Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) in 1966. The following year, McEwen completed an oil mural for the Théâtre Port-Royal of Montreal's Place des Arts (now the Théâtre Jean-Duceppe) entitled Éclats de gaité verte. This fiery piece is a study for the mural still on display at the theatre, although it is a self-contained and powerful work in itself. Étude pour Murale Place des Arts demonstrates the artist's strong relationship with primary elements of formalism - colour, rhythm, shape and depth. McEwen employs his characteristic vertical band, which he used to balance the pictorial plane and to create depth. The stratification of orange and red paint layers create an inferno of colour, allowing them to radiate from within the canvas. In 1966 and 1967, McEwen was included in various important exhibitions, including shows at the National Gallery of Canada, the Musée du Québec, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Canadian Pavilion at Expo '67, Montreal.
Heffel
Mar. 29, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Trou de mémoire
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Trou de mémoire 20 x 16 inches 50.8 x 40.6 centimeters signed and on verso inscribed #15 Provenance:Private Collection, Montreal
Heffel
Mar. 29, 2012
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Midi, temps jaune
Est: $6,000 - $9,000
Jean Albert McEwen 1923 - 1999 Canadian oil on canvas Midi, temps jaune 12 x 11 inches 30.5 x 27.9 centimeters signed faintly Provenance:Private Collection, Toronto
Heffel
Nov. 28, 2011
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN1923 - 1999
Est: $20,000 - $30,000
LES CHAMPS COLORÉS #7 signed lower right; signed, titled and dated '81 on the overlap oil on canvas 116.5 by 132 cm. 46 by 52 in.
Sotheby's
Nov. 28, 2011
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN1923 - 1999
Est: $15,000 - $25,000
UNTITLED signed and dated '63 lower right oil on canvas 51.5 by 51 cm. 20¼ by 20 in.
Sotheby's
Nov. 28, 2011
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN1923 - 1999
Est: $50,000 - $70,000
MIDI, TEMPS ORANGE signed, titled and dated '58 lower left; signed, dated and inscribed Peinture on the reverse oil on canvas 96.5 by 96.5 cm. 38 by 38 in.
Sotheby's
Nov. 28, 2011
JEAN ALBERT MCEWEN1923 - 1999
Est: $5,000 - $7,000
COMPOSITION signed and dated '89 lower right oil on canvas 36.1 by 31 cm. 14¼ by 12¼ in.
Sotheby's