Lot 21: Alexander Colville 1920 - Canadian ink on paper

Alexander Colville 1920 - Canadian ink on paper Study for Berlin Bus 11 3/4 x 9 inches 29.8 x 22.9 centimeters signed and dated 9 Feb. 1978 and 10 Feb. 1978 twice Literature:David Burnett, Colville, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983, the 1978 painting entitled Berlin Bus reproduced page 123, the 1971 ink drawing Study for Berlin Bus reproduced page 132 and two 1978 pencil and ink studies, both entitled Study for Berlin Bus, reproduced page 133 Provenance:Marlborough-Godard, Toronto An Important Private Estate, Montreal In 1971, Alex Colville spent six months in Berlin as Visiting Artist under the Berliner Kunstlerprogramm. While there, he produced many drawings, some of which formed the basis for the 1978 painting Berlin Bus, for which this is a study. Colville was fascinated by the double-decked buses there, and included one in the final painting. A 1971 ink drawing Study for Berlin Bus included figures on the street, but when Colville returned to Canada later in 1971, the idea of the running girl entered into the concept. Seven years later, he returned to this image, continued his studies and finished the painting, which features the running girl, as seen in this refined drawing, as a prominent element. Colville depicts her in a moment of heightened physical activity, sprinting franticly, twisting her head to the left. In the painting, he positions her running parallel but not close to the bus, her stride suspended in mid-air. It is an intriguing image, and as with the most powerful of Colville's works, there is more going on than is immediately apparent.