Lot 58: EDWIN HEADLEY HOLGATE, R.C.A., SKETCH - NORTH SHORE, oil on panel, 8.5 ins x 10.75 ins; 21.6 cms x 27.3 cms

EDWIN HEADLEY HOLGATE, R.C.A.SKETCH - NORTH SHOREoil on panelsigned with initials; also signed and titled on the reverse 8.5 ins x 10.75 ins; 21.6 cms x 27.3 cms Provenance:Continental Galleries of Fine Art, MontrealPrivate Collection, New BrunswickExhibited:Manoir Richelieu Art Exhibition, Manoir Richelieu, Quebec, no. 22.Edwin Holgate (1892-1977) was a key figure in the development of modern art in Canada. Born near Barrie, Ontario, he studied at the Art Association of Montreal under William Brymner, then in Paris until the outbreak of war in 1914. After serving in the army, Holgate founded the Beaver Hall Group in 1920 with several other young Montreal artists, in response to the first exhibition of the Group of Seven held in Toronto that spring. In the early 1920s, Holgate studied with Russian émigré artist Adolf Milman in Paris; Milman’s emphasis on strong colour, drawing, and formal structure had a lasting impact on the young artist. Back in Canada, Holgate sketched with A.Y. Jackson along the St. Lawrence River and in 1926, on the Skeena River in British Columbia. Exhibiting in several Group of Seven exhibitions as an invited contributor, he became a member of the Group in 1929.In 1930, (and again in 1932) on his way to Labrador, Holgate stopped at the small fishing village of Natashquan on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Here he painted a number of sketches, one of which was exhibited in the 1930 Group of Seven show. -Many of these feature the small white shacks used by fisherman, known as magasins du galet, and now preserved as heritage sites. This particular sketch, entitled simply “North Shore,” focuses on the bridge that spans the Petite rivière de Natashquan. It is a bold composition, in which the viewer faces the river at a slight angle so that the bridge cuts across the picture from the lower right quadrant. The bridge is solidly drawn and its colours heightened for emphasis. A lively interplay of colours—pink, ochre and red, against the large patch of blue water—attracts the eye and carries it into the background, populated by fishermen’s houses. The painting was loaned to an exhibition at the Manoir Richelieu at Murray Bay (La Malbaie) probably in the 1930s.Estimate: $50,000–60,000