Lot 17
PETER CLAPHAM SHEPPARD, O.S.A., R.C.A.
Additional Images
Provenance:
Estate of the artist
Private Collection, Toronto, ON
Note:
Sheppard viewed himself as an observer, as well as a chronicler of society. Quotidian subjects delighted the artist, and many of his major canvases show factory workers, carriage drivers, and labourers. This particular canvas takes Sheppard off the street and into the glittering world of Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre. The artist has chosen to omit a view of the stage, preferring to set his gaze on the well-heeled audience—evidently more interesting than the night’s entertainment. Sheppard’s earlier work from the 1920s had expressed a more extroverted approach in depicting his subjects, while his paintings from the 1930s tend to have more reserve, subsumed into “an interest in conveying emotion through tone and ephemeral forms...all the better to set down the deeply human and timeless qualities of his subjects.”1
1Tom Smart, Peter Clapham Sheppard: His Life and Work, Firefly Books, p.203
CONDITION DETAILS
The work is in very good condition, with very minor restoration. Please contact us for a detailed report.
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