Lot 126: Efa Prudence Heward 1896 - 1947 Canadian

Efa Prudence Heward 1896 - 1947 Canadian double-sided oil on board My Housekeeper's Daughter / Ploughing the Field (verso) 14 1/4 x 12 inches 36.2 x 30.5 centimeters Literature:Dennis Reid, A Concise History of Canadian Painting, 1988, page 194 Marie-Hélène Lépine, Alfred Pellan: La Modernité, Musée d'art contemporain des Laurentides, 2006, reproduced page 28 A.K. Prakash, Independent Spirit: Early Canadian Women Artists, 2008, page 96, reproduced page 239 Provenance:Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal A.K. Prakash & Associates Inc., Toronto Private Collection, Florida Exhibited:Musée d'art contemporain des Laurentides, Québec, Alfred Pellan: La Modernité, May 14 - September 3, 2006 Prudence Heward was an extremely gifted figure painter. In the 1930s her innate skill and determination led her to create some of the most powerful yet sensitive figurative paintings in the history of Canadian art. Dennis Reid writes, "For the next ten years a slow but steady series of female portraits came off her easel, each displaying a more intense union of colour and form, reflecting personalities of vigorous individuality." A.K. Prakash praised Heward for her ability to explore "the psychological forces that animate the human soul. Painted with directness, Heward's portraits embody sensual relish for the battle of life." My Housekeeper's Daughter is a portrayal of a young girl, her strong expression emphasized by the dramatic shadowing on her face. A poignant scene, it depicts a dynamic moment between a mother and her daughter. The separate domains of family life and work are suggested by the artist through the positioning of the child and mother in the composition, part of a narrative that Heward leaves open to the interpretion of the viewer.