Lot 44: Hortense Mattice Gordon 1887 - 1961 Canadian oil on canvas Studio Impressions

Hortense Mattice Gordon 1887 - 1961 Canadian oil on canvas Studio Impressions
30 x 22 inches 76.2 x 55.9 centimeters signed twice and dated 1953 and on verso signed twice, titled on the stretcher and alternatively titled Afternoon Impressions on an exhibition label and inscribed "exhibited at Provincetown, 1958" Literature:Stuart MacCuaig, Climbing the Cold White Peaks: A Survey of Artists in and from Hamilton, 1910 - 1950, 1986, page 127
Provenance:
Private Collection, Ontario Exhibited:Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto, 1953, catalogue #33
Royal Canadian Academy Exhibition, Montreal, 1954, catalogue #38
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Second Sale of Fine Arts, 1957 Studio Impressions, painted in 1953, is an example of Hortense Gordon's transitional style from figurative to abstract painting. While there are traces of architectural forms still evident, her direction has clearly progressed to the abstract. The style and quality of this work likely influenced her close friend Ray Mead to invite Gordon into the group Painters Eleven, founded later this same year. This work has been exhibited in Hamilton, Montreal and as far afield as Provincetown, USA. Gordon spent many summers in Provincetown and exhibited with the Provincetown Art Association frequently. She became acquainted with the area while studying at the school of Hans Hofmann and later, exhibiting alongside contemporaries like William Ronald. Gordon was one of the first Canadian artists to learn from Hofmann. As Stuart MacCuaig relates, she was captivated by "his theories of positive and negative areas in painting, of suspension and movement, and of push and pull." Her use of shape and colour manifests this tension, generating a visual energy in this important Painters Eleven period work by the artist.