Lot 25: Lise Gervais 1933 - 1998 Canadian oil on canvas

Lise Gervais 1933 - 1998 Canadian oil on canvas Indian Summer 48 x 60 inches 121.9 x 152.4 centimeters signed and dated 1965 and on verso signed and titled Provenance:Gallery Moos, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto In this hot, shimmering work, Lise Gervais's understanding of her colour palette is readily apparent. It is a luscious painting that speaks of summer warmth and autumn ripeness, and Gervais has conveyed the idea of heat through her glowing hot reds with their different translucencies, and through the slickness of her palette-knife application of paint, which feels completely fresh. Suggested by the title of Indian Summer, the shapes in the work might evoke the idea of an ancient wall or another type of architectural ruin, caught under the heat of the fall sun. The swathes of purple, here a royal colour indeed, seem to command centre stage, while the inky blacks set everything off brilliantly. Gervais had a masterful command of colour, and her ability to use reds that tend to orange as wel as ones that tend to black and to apply them in such brilliant harmony as she has done here, is part of the appeal of her vibrant, enthralling works.