Lot 3
PETER CLAPHAM SHEPPARD, O.S.A., R.C.A.
Additional Images
Provenance:
Private Collection, Toronto, ON
Note:
A painter of staggering talent, Sheppard’s work would be largely forgotten by the end of his lifetime, and is only being properly acknowledged now. The breadth of work from this important Canadian modernist cannot be understated, described by his biographer Tom Smart as “a realist who captured the life and times of his people and city; an Impressionist who sought to picture the effects of light and weather in an urban context, particularly a winter snow squal or blizzard; a plein-air painter who worked to capture the experience of place in cedar shingle-sized paintings done on-site in all weather conditions; and a latent abstractionist whose sharp eye could also be turned to reducing landscape elements to essential shapes and significant forms, and in the process could flatten the picture plane into arrangements of colours, shapes, lines and textures.”1 Sheppard’s Elizabeth Street, Toronto shattered auction estimates in 2018 at Waddington’s, and we continue to watch this important Canadian painter’s legacy grow.
Though it would seem almost a non sequitur to describe a seemingly neutral coastal scene as an exercise in dynamic modernism, The Green Boat, Port Credit is precisely that. Sheppard approaches a beloved subject—a boat plying the waters of Lake Ontario—and infuses it with a vertiginous perspective. The work brings to mind the pioneering perspective of Russian avant-garde photographer Aleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko, taking something familiar and re-examining it steeply from above or below. While an amateur’s attempt would have resulted in a chaotic composition, Sheppard assuredly bisects his composition on the diagonal, with the upper triangle painted in radiant celestial blue, and the lower triangle dominated with duns and and blue-grays. The bottom right corner acts as a locus, with many of the lines fanning out from that point. The composition is startling, both considered and effortless, a masterful act of painterly sprezzatura.
1Tom Smart, Peter Clapham Sheppard: His Life and Work, Firefly Books, p.203
CONDITION DETAILS
The work is in excellent condition with no visible issues to report. Under ultraviolet light, nothing floresces. The canvas is taut.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and mandated government restrictions, Waddington’s regrets that we are unable to make lots from this auction available for pre-auction, in-person inspection. This condition report has been prepared by Waddington’s as a courtesy and has been provided for guidance only. The Lot is offered in the condition it is in at the time of sale. Any reference to condition in the report for the Lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the Lot form part of the condition report for the Lot provided by Waddington’s. Please note, certain images of the Lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the Lot and may represent colours and shades which are different to the Lot’s actual colour and shades. Waddington’s specialists are not professional conservators or restorers and the report set forth is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Waddington’s. Prospective buyers should bear in mind that this report will not disclose any imperfections which may only be revealed during the course of subsequent restoration. Buyers are reminded that Waddington’s warranties with respect to any property are limited as set forth in the Conditions of Sale and do not extend to condition.