Description:

Alexandra Luke, OSA (1901-1967), Canadian

FULL BLOWN, 1953

oil on hardboard
signed lower right; signed and titled verso
32 x 28 in — 81.3 x 71.1 cm

Estimate: $10,000—15,000

    Provenance:
  • Mrs. Robert Gillespie, Jackson, MS
    Private Collection, United States
  • Dimensions:
  • 32 x 28 in — 81.3 x 71.1 cm
  • Artist Name:
  • Alexandra Luke, OSA (1901-1967)
  • Exhibited:
  • 74th Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, ON, 27 Nov 1953-10 Jan 1954, no. 55.
  • Medium:
  • oil on hardboard
  • Notes:
  • Titles of artworks can be categorical, descriptive, and/or evocative. Alexandra Luke’s Full Blown, a still life of flowers, emerges from an abstract composition and hovers on the edge of representation. The painting’s assertive oranges, whites, and yellows radiate from the hardboard support, full blown in energy and dynamism.

    Akin to Luke’s breakthrough abstractions of the early 1950s such as the National Gallery of Canada’s Untitled, ca. 1951 (NGC no. 36833), Full Blown also shows the influence of Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) during her study at his summer school in Provincetown, Massachusetts, from 1947 to 1952. A proponent of both Abstract Expressionism and formalist painting, Hofmann was far more sensitive than he was dogmatic. In the 1940s he painted still lifes that, like Full Blown, are still lifes in name only.

    In essence, Full Blown functions as an abstract painting. The white and orange heads of the flowers and green of the foliage and vase form a diagonal from lower left to upper right bisecting a background of brown madder, and yellow and green passages. Deftly using lessons from Hofmann, Luke composed a painting attached to the observable world by a tendril. The white, orange and greens of the diagonal pulse forward, while the background’s madder brown and mixtures of yellow and green recede. Importantly, parts of the diagonal recede and parts of the background pulse forward constantly engaging the eye and activating vision.

    When Luke showed Full Blown in the 1953 exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art at the Art Gallery of Toronto, it was her first work shown there. In the spirit of the Group of Seven a quarter of a century earlier, Luke and her colleagues – including Jack Bush, Oscar Cahén, Kazuo Nakamura and William Ronald – banded together to form Painters Eleven in the fall of 1953 and held their first formal exhibition the next year.

    Full Blown appears on the Canadian market for the first time in decades, possibly since its appearance at the RCA over 70 years ago. Consigned to Waddington’s by a private American collector, it was previously in the collection of the former Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court Robert Gillespie and his wife.
  • Condition:
  • Good overall condition.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

The Auctioneers will not undertake packing or shipping. The purchaser must designate and arrange for the services of an independent shipper and be responsible for all shipping and insurance expenses. The Auctioneers will, upon request, provide names of professional packers and shippers but will not be held responsible for the service or have any liability for providing this information. Reliable pre-auction estimates of shipping costs of lots offered in this sale may be obtained from:

PICK UP & SHIPPING FROM TORONTO:

When contacting the shippers please have your invoice # and item information ready.

PakShip
Attn: Taurus Chan
Tel: 905.470.6874
416.293.8225
Fax: 905.470.6875
[email protected]
www.pakship.ca

Safer Shipping
Attn: Perry Hehn
Tel: 416.299.3367
Fax: 416.299.9750
[email protected]
www.safershipping.ca

PICK UP & SHIPPING FROM VANCOUVER:

Please note that lots in our Waddington's West auctions are located in Vancouver, B.C. When contacting the shippers please have your invoice # and item information ready.

The UPS Store 424
Tel: 604-559-5446
[email protected]

PakMail
Tel: 604-472-6245
[email protected]
www.pakmailcanada.com

CITES WARNING:
Restrictions exist regarding the import and export of species protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). This includes but is not limited to items made of or containing bone (whalebone etc.), ivory, tortoise shell, seal skin, rhinoceros horn and any other animal part and is strictly controlled or forbidden by most countries. Please review your country's laws before bidding on pieces made of or containing these restricted items. It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to inquire about and obtain the proper permits for artwork purchased that may contain restricted materials, if such permit can be obtained. Please contact the department for further assistance. For more information please visit www.cites.org

May 29, 2024 6:00 PM EDT
Toronto, ON, CA

Waddington's

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
CA$0 CA$249 CA$10
CA$250 CA$499 CA$25
CA$500 CA$999 CA$50
CA$1,000 CA$1,999 CA$100
CA$2,000 CA$4,999 CA$250
CA$5,000 CA$9,999 CA$500
CA$10,000 CA$19,999 CA$1,000
CA$20,000 CA$49,999 CA$2,000
CA$50,000 CA$99,999 CA$5,000
CA$100,000 CA$299,999 CA$10,000
CA$300,000 CA$999,999 CA$25,000
CA$1,000,000 CA$1,999,999 CA$50,000
CA$2,000,000 CA$2,999,999 CA$100,000
CA$3,000,000 CA$4,999,999 CA$200,000
CA$5,000,000 + CA$300,000