Lot 105: Nora Frances Elizabeth Collyer 1898 - 1979 Canadian double-sided oil on board Eastern Townships Landscape / Farm, Eastern Townships (verso)

Nora Frances Elizabeth Collyer 1898 - 1979 Canadian double-sided oil on board Eastern Townships Landscape / Farm, Eastern Townships (verso)
16 x 18 inches 40.6 x 45.7 centimeters signed and on verso initialed Literature:Barbara Meadowcroft, Painting Friends, 1999, page 101
Provenance:By descent to the present Private Estate, Quebec Both sides of this vital double-sided painting are typical of Beaver Hall Group artist Nora Collyer's strong work in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. She spent many summers at her parents' family cottage Hillcrest, near Foster, sometimes joined by other Beaver Hall Group artists such as Anne Savage, Ethel Seath and Sarah Robertson for sketching weekends. Known for her gift for friendship, Collyer was described by Savage as "one of the loveliest people imaginable." Collyer built her own cottage near Foster in 1950 overlooking Lake Memphremagog and spent her summers painting the surrounding area. Subjects such as rural houses, churches, farms and villages washed in sunlight formed the backbone of her oeuvre. Eastern Townships Landscape exhibits Collyer's volumetric sense of form, use of direct light and vigorous brushwork which emphasizes the gentle rhythms of this area. Both structures have a vibrant, well-tended feeling, as if their inhabitants are about to round the corner and, together with their tranquil lakeside settings and vibrant summer atmosphere, embody Collyer's warm and intimate feeling for this area.