Lot 1: Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976

Bertram Charles (B.C.) Binning 1909 - 1976 Canadian oil on board Two Ships Standing Off 14 x 7 1/8 inches 35.6 x 18.1 centimeters signed and on verso signed and titled Literature:Doreen E. Walker, B.C. Binning, A Classical Spirit, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1986, unpaginated Provenance:Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., Vancouver Private Collection, British Columbia A pioneer West Coast modernist, B.C. Binning was head of the Fine Arts Department at the University of British Columbia, an architect, an internationally recognized artist and an important cultural catalyst in the Vancouver art scene. From the late 1940s into the 1950s, Binning painted semi-abstract nautical themes. The tall standing vessel in Two Ships Standing Off is an iconic image used in works such as the well-known 1948 oil Ships in a Classical Calm, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. This important motif was derived from a pivotal experience Binning had during an excursion into Indian Arm just after the Second World War, where he saw a group of World War II ships tied up in a cove, and became fascinated with the image of the hulls towering above him. He recounted, "There is something about a ship viewed - especially bow on - that has a regalness about it and the great shapes, to me, were terrifically impressive." Binning often included colourful nautical details, and the pennants, rigging and navigation wheel add a lyrical note to the elegance and formal strength of this modernist work.