Canadian Art

Auction begins to close:
December 10, 2020 at 2:00 pm ET

Online Auction
LOT 16

Lot 16

JACK REPPEN, O.S.A.

JACK REPPEN, O.S.A.
Lot 16 Details
JACK REPPEN, O.S.A.

THE CITY, 1958-61

mixed media on board
signed and dated "58'61"; titled on the reverse
36 ins x 48 ins; 91.4 cms x 121.9 cms

Estimate $2,000-$3,000

Realised: $3,000
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Additional Images
JACK REPPEN, O.S.A.
  • JACK REPPEN, O.S.A.
  • JACK REPPEN, O.S.A.
  • JACK REPPEN, O.S.A.
Provenance:

Mazelow Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto

Note:

Jack Reppen began his career not as a painter but as a sports cartoonist, drawing athlete caricatures and illustrations for the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star from his early teens. Large and athletic, he had aspirations to be a hockey player and trained as a traffic light repairman (he would end up painting white lines on roadways), before turning to full-time commercial painting in the 1950s. His abstracted, mixed-media paintings were almost entirely produced in his off-hours after work, and were inspired by locales and themes that would interest him. Most of all he was interested in the play of surface texture: paint is worked in heavy ridges and thick impasto, with embedded material producing a rough, sedimentary feel.

This work was painted during a formative time for Reppen’s painting: his first solo show at Gallery Moos opened in Toronto in 1959 - the first Canadian artist to show at the gallery - and anticipates a productive period following a visit to Mexico two years later. Reppen’s death in 1964 from cancer would bring a sudden end to his influential and important contributions to the Canadian abstract landscape.

Reppen at a 1963 opening (image)
Maclean's article, "Reppen: portrait of the cartoonist as an artistic young troublemaker"

CONDITION DETAILS

For condition information please contact the specialist.

LOT 16
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.