Lot 22
HARRY BRITTON, O.S.A., R.C.A.
Additional Images
Provenance:
Mellors Laing Gallery, Toronto
Collectors’ Gallery, Calgary
Private Collection, Alberta
Note:
Britton was born in Cambridge, England and moved with his parents to Toronto as a young child. He first studied under McGillivray Knowles and then continued his education in London. Britton would have completed this large-scale work depicting the Cornish fishing boats of St. Ives while at the London School of Art. In 1911, the year this work was painted, Britton submitted no less than six paintings to the Royal Canadian Academy for their annual exhibition and at least five of these had fishing boats as their subject. He was exceptionally adept at capturing the panoply of colors and textures associated with coastal life and industry: sun-drenched boats, crumbling stone breaker walls, rusty chain, the dappled reflections of sunlight playing on the harboured sea, weathered fishing boats with their well-worn sails and serene coastal views. This lot is the largest work of this subject by Britton to appear on the market - although other major works can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and abroad.