Canadian Art

December 0510, 2020
Auction begins to close at 2:00 pm ET

Online Auction
LOT 12

Lot 12

ALEXANDRA LUKE

ALEXANDRA LUKE
Lot 12 Details
ALEXANDRA LUKE

UNTITLED

oil on board
signed to the stretcher on the reverse
48 ins x 32 ins; 121.9 cms x 81.3 cms

Estimate $30,000-$40,000

Realised: $55,200
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Additional Images
ALEXANDRA LUKE
  • ALEXANDRA LUKE
  • ALEXANDRA LUKE
  • ALEXANDRA LUKE
  • ALEXANDRA LUKE
Provenance:

Private Collection, Ottawa

Literature:

Luke, personal notebook [1947] qtd. in Maria Tippett, By a Lady, Toronto: Penguin Books, 1992, p. 130

Exhibited:

Canadian Women Artists, Riverside Museum, New York, 1947-1950

Note:

Alexandra Luke remained an autodidact until 1945. From 1947 to 1950 she spent some summer weeks each year in Provincetown so that she could train at the Hans Hofmann School. By 1952, Luke made the impressive move of organizing The Canadian Abstract Exhibition. It was the first nationally touring exhibition of abstract painting in Canada and it helped to spawn camaraderie amongst painters of non-objective art, and namely Painters Eleven to which she belonged from its inception until its end (1953-1960). Hofmann’s training made an indelible mark upon Luke’s painting practice. The pops of colour in fast but strong rectilinear shapes across this Untitled painting shows his influence. Her aim, she once wrote, “is toward a powerful creative aesthetic element resulting from a spatial concept of controlled abstract expressionism, arriving at three-dimensionality through two-dimensionality by deep consideration of the negative space and shifting planes of the subject…”

We thank Dr. Sarah Stanners, art historian, curator, and Director of the Jack Bush Catalogue Raisonné for contributing this essay.

CONDITION DETAILS

For condition information please contact the specialist.

LOT 12
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.