Richard Thomson (b. 1930)
‘Behind Ontario Street in Cabbagetown (Toronto, Ont.) 1984’
acrylic on paper
(actual) 3″ high x 2″ wide
(frame) 6″ high x 5″ wide
Description: Canadian School portrait miniature in acrylic, titled and dated by Toronto artist Richard Thomson (b. 1930), ‘Behind Ontario Street in Cabbagetown (Toronto, Ont.) 1984.’ It depicts a Toronto Residence in winter, a scene instantly recognizable to any person who is familiar with the city. Tracks can be seen along the pathway to the front door further reminding the viewer that the city may be quite due to seasonal conditions but it is very much full of life.
Notes: A genre popularized by Albert Jacque Franck, but practiced by many local artists each to their own style, it offers a youthful expression of the individualized urban life that permeated Toronto culture during the often radical and experimental 1970s and early 1980’s (think Michael Snow, Harold Town, or David Gilhooly). Unlike Franck’s often moody and dilapidated homes this house, quite possibly one depicted by both artists, is instead reclaimed and executed in the vibrant and funky “do-it-yourself” colours introduced to inner-city architecture by an influx of artists who were attracted to the accessible housing values and who greatly contributed to the post-recession renewal.
It’s been said Toronto is a city defined by its artists, through its artistic representation and through its communities. Jane Jacob’s exemplified these neighbourhoods in her theories on cities and it is these accessible villages Toronto is fighting to save. This miniature, every bit a portrait, documents, and keeps alive, the changing conditions of Toronto’s experience of place.
Markings: signed and dated lower left, “R. THOMSON – 84 –“; titled and signed verso, “Behind Ontario Street in Cabbagetown (Toronto, Ont) 1984 – Richard Thomson / 13-11-1930 –“
Dimensions (painting): 3″ high x 2″ wide
Dimensions (frame): 6″ high x 5″ wide
Condition: Excellent Condition. Executed and mounted on card, and housed in the original sealed glass frame it is ready for display.
Sold.
