Lot 265: Nora Frances Elizabeth Collyer 1898 - 1979

Nora Frances Elizabeth Collyer 1898 - 1979 Canadian oil on board Port-au-Persil "16 x 18 inches 40.6 x 45.7 centimeters signed and dated 1968 and on verso signed, titled, dated and inscribed """"From Hotel A. Bouchard"""" Provenance:Private Collection, Montreal A prominent member of the Beaver Hall Group, Nora Collyer received the majority of her training at the Art Association of Montreal. She spent nine years there in total, taking part-time classes and attending sketching expeditions with Maurice Cullen and William Brymner on weekends. Those early trips would prove to be extremely influential for Collyer. Brymner and Cullen encouraged their students to abandon outdated conservative doctrine and free themselves to use their own methods of self-expression. Collyer achieved success in her career, exhibiting through the Canadian Group of Painters, and was given a solo exhibition in 1946 at the Dominion Gallery in Montreal. In her later years, Collyer sought out the waterways and townships n southeastern Quebec, continuing to explore the beloved landscapes introduced on those early expeditions. Port-au-Persil is a lovely example of Collyer's most mature and poignant work; her rich use of colour and soft brush-strokes lend an uncomplicated dreamy quality to this St. Lawrence town. "