Lot 55: Edward John (E.J.) Hughes 1913 - 2007 Canadian oil

Edward John (E.J.) Hughes 1913 - 2007 Canadian oil on panel The Gap at Nanaimo 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches 21.6 x 26.7 centimeters signed and dated 1948 and on verso signed, titled, dated, inscribed with the Dominion Gallery inventory #A4034 and stamped Dominion Gallery Literature:The E.J. Hughes Album, The Paintings - Volume I, 1932 - 1991, 2011, listed page 9 Provenance:Dominion Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Vancouver Following his discharge from the Canadian military in 1946, E.J. Hughes returned to the West Coast, eventually settling in Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island. After his experience as an official war artist, Hughes decided to focus his attention on what he described as the most beautiful landscape in the world, the stunning backdrop of British Columbia. In 1948, funded by an Emily Carr Scholarship (whose committee consisted of Lawren Harris and Ira Dilworth), Hughes explored the east coast of Vancouver Island, producing sketches of Chemainus, Gabriola Island, Nanaimo and Qualicum Beach. On his excursions he would most often do pencil sketches with careful and intricate colour notations, occasionally painting a small panel sketch in oil. Hughes stated that these sketches provided him with enough material and inspiration for several years of painting in his studio. Tranquil and incandescent, The Gap at Nanaimo is a rare early oil sketch from Hughes's field expedition in 1948.