Lot 211: Emily Coonan 1885 - 1971 Canadian oil on canvas on

Emily Coonan 1885 - 1971 Canadian oil on canvas on board Still Life 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches 59.7 x 49.5 centimeters signed Provenance: A gift from the Artist to the present Private Collection, Montreal Emily Coonan studied at the Art Association of Montreal under William Brymner, a very influential teacher who supported the work of his most talented students long after they had left his tutelage. Through him, Coonan was exposed to the work of the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, including Canadian Impressionist James Wilson Morrice. These artists, with their concern for the effects of light, atmosphere and colour, would influence her work throughout her career. Coonan traveled to France with Henrietta Mabel May in 1912, and saw the work of these painters first-hand. She also visited Italy, Belgium and Holland, and as a result, her work has an international flavour. Coonan paid attention to subtle, delicate details, such as the folds in the tablecloth in this charming still life. The variation of the cloth's colour as light strikes the crisp fabric and changes into shadow as it passes over the creases in the cloth is especially fine. Coonan is both one of Canada's early modernists and Impressionists.