Lot 86: Edward John (E.J.) Hughes 1913 - 2007 Canadian

Edward John (E.J.) Hughes 1913 - 2007 Canadian watercolour on paper Monument and Chateau Laurier 18 x 24 inches 45.7 x 61 centimeters signed and on verso titled and dated 1956 on the Dominion Gallery label Literature:Patricia Salmon, E.J. Hughes, RCA : 40 ans avec la galerie / E.J. Hughes, RCA: 40 Years with Dominion Gallery, Dominion Gallery, 1991, page 18, reproduced page 19 and listed page 24 Provenance:Dominion Gallery, Montreal The Estate of Dr. Max Stern, Montreal Private Collection, Vancouver Exhibited:Dominion Gallery, Montreal, E.J. Hughes, RCA : 40 ans avec la galerie / E.J. Hughes, RCA: 40 Years with Dominion Gallery, 1991 E.J. Hughes had first spent time in Ottawa from 1944 to 1946, while serving as an Official War Artist. In 1956, he went on a cross-Canada trip sponsored by Dr. Max Stern, his dealer at Montreal's Dominion Gallery. Stern had discovered Hughes during a trip to Vancouver in 1951, and thus began a long and fruitful relationship. During this 1956 eastern trip, Hughes sketched the cities of Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Regina, a departure from his usual landscape subjects. In recalling this trip, Hughes wryly commented, "Perhaps Max Stern thought he could make another Canaletto out of me." His works from the 1950s are much sought after, since Hughes's mature style was fully crystallized, and this is an outstanding example of his eastern cityscapes. Finely detailed, this watercolour of the iconic Château Laurier Hotel with the imposing War Memorial in the foreground captures the urban grandeur of Ottawa's wide boulevards and stately architecture. This work and lot 87 in this auction were chosen to represent the Cities of Canada section of a 1991 exhibition honouring Hughes's forty-year relationship with Dominion Gallery.