Lot 189: Sir Frederick Grant Banting 1891 - 1941 Canadian

Sir Frederick Grant Banting 1891 - 1941 Canadian oil on canvas Rooftops, Quebec City " 25 x 32 inches 63.5 x 81.3 centimeters on verso titled on the Roberts Gallery label Provenance:Lady Banting, Toronto Roberts Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto Exhibited:Hart House, University of Toronto, Exhibition of Paintings of the late Sir Frederick Banting, February 13 - March 1, 1943 Having failed to supplement his meager income by selling small watercolours when he began his medical practice in 1920, it was only after achieving world-wide fame as a physiologist by 1923 that Banting had the resources and leisure time available to truly develop his inherent artistic gifts. His untimely death in an airplane accident at the age of 50 was shocking news worldwide, and perhaps to none more than to his great friend, A.Y. Jackson. With more exposure in recent years to the oil sketches produced by Banting in the company of Jackson on their many sketching trips to the far north and throughout Quebec after 1927, one can observe his growing maturity as a painter. Typically, those works are small landscape panels painted outdoors, and so it is rare to come across larger studio canvases like Rooftops, Quebec City, a work which demonstrates Banting's growing confidence in his ability to handle a complex subject. This work's rich colour, play of angular design and handling of light and shadow make for a lively view of Quebec City.