James Lorimer Keirstead (Canadian, 1932)
‘Barn in Winter’
watercolour
(sight) 4 ½” high x 6 ½” wide
(Framed) 9 ¼” high x 11 ¼” wide
Markings: signed and dated lower right, “Keirstead 75”; signed and inscribed lower left, ”GRACE & TED” / “BEST WISHES” / “Jim”
Condition: Very Good. Some expected light fading primarily to the inscription.
Artist Biography: Due to popular patronage, Keirstead is unquestionably a / leading artist on the Canadian scene. Keirstead paintings / hang in major private and corporate collections, including / those of Rt. Hon. P. E. Trudeau and of General Gowon, President of Nigeria. He is an artist of tremendous vitality, energy, / and drive, who has sold over 3,000 paintings in the past fifteen / years. Finding fresh inspiration, Keirstead will plunge into / his work. Gaining momentum from rewarding results and / new insight, he will work long and hard for periods of several / weeks completing a series of related works. Keirstead grasps / the essential. His very personal interpretation shows daring / and constant growth, yet always distinctly Keirstead. The / paintings evidence a continual striving to achieve greater unity / in each motif. // Keirstead florals have a bold, dramatic, unequalled charm. / Although the paint is applied in extremely heavy impasto, the / finished works retain the most subtle harmonies of colour and value. // The paintings of mills, barns, and the fishing villages of / the Maritimes record a passing era. Sailing ships, mono-chromatic works of the female form in oil washes, and watercolours, / are all part of the Keirstead repertoire. // Mr. Keirstead was born in Saint John, New Brunswick. / Leaving there at the age of two, he grew up in Toronto and / Whitby. In 1949, after his parent’s store at Sharbot Lake / burned, he joined the army and served in Korea 1952-53. Upon / his return, he served with the Ontario Provincial Police until / 1965. While still in the force, his first one-man show was held / at Wallack’s Gallery, Bank Street, Ottawa. By 1965 demand / for his work was such that he made painting his full-time / vocation. By the end of 1972 he had held over twenty one-man / shows in prominent galleries coast to coast.
