Lot 33: Samuel Borenstein 1908 - 1969 Canadian oil on

Samuel Borenstein 1908 - 1969 Canadian oil on canvas Downtown Montreal 23 x 31 inches 58.4 x 78.7 centimeters signed and dated 1943 and on verso titled on the label Provenance:Louis and Rose Melzack Collection Private Collection, London, England Exhibited:Art Gallery of Hamilton, September - October, 1974 After surviving the war years in Lithuania, Sam Borenstein immigrated to Canada in 1921. Upon arrival in Montreal, he worked as a furrier and fabric cutter before pursuing painting, and applied in about 1926 to the École des beaux arts in Montreal, but was rejected. Nevertheless, he was committed to his practice and attended evening art classes for two years. However, his greatest education came from fellow Montreal artists - Adam Sherriff Scott, Herman Heimlich and Fritz Brandtner, amongst others. By the early 1940s, he was increasingly involved in the Montreal artistic milieu, but as exemplified here, his individual expression was gaining clarity. Great movement is beginning to sweep across the sky, almost pulling the trees away with it and thus acting as a sign of the expressive eruptions to follow in his later paintings. The shades of blues and purples and the almost deserted street evoke a moody atmosphere, as if a storm is brewing on the horizon. Downtown Montreal demonstrates a stage in Borenstein's gradual yet unbridled development in becoming one of Canada's most distinct Expressionists.