Robert Allen Paterson (Canada, b. 1936) OSA, CSPWC
‘Descent, Abstraction,’ c. 1962
monoprint
(image) 16” high x 12” wide
(framed) 27” high x 20 ¾” wide
Notes: Robert Allen Paterson (Canada, b. 1936) OSA, CSPWC original and unique monoprint impression titled ‘Descent,’ 1962. This print has a significant provenance coming directly from the Private Collection of noted Canadian art dealer Douglas M Duncan, into the National Gallery of Canada, and from there into the Permanent Collection of the Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant where it was recently deaccessioned for offer into the Gallery & Auction sphere.
Known primarily for his representational investigations, this example shows Paterson in an experimental state and provides a rare glimpse behind the scenes into Paterson’s working imagination. It is this early work, closely linked with the best of the often-experimental Canadian printmaking scene, and produced while teaching at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto, as a Printmaking Department Assistant, that caught the attention of the upper echelons of the Canadian Art Institutions. In the following year he would be included in the Inuit Printmaking Cooperative experiment where he would be involved in the founding of important early Inuit artworks and kick-off a carrier that would span the next two decades.
Markings: titled in pencil lower left, “Descent”; signed and dated in pencil lower right, “RAPaterson ‘62”; Estate Label verso, “THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT” / “Descent (mono)” / “IS BY Robert Paterson” / “AND IS FROM” / “THE DOUGLAS M. DUNCAN ESTATE” / “Frances Barwick FRANCES BARWICK” / “Cecil Troy CECIL TROY”; Museum Label verso; “ACC. NO. 470.14” / “PERMANENT COLLECTION” / “ARTIST: PATERSON, Robert Allen” / “TITLE: DESCENT” / “DATE: 1962” / “MEDIA: Monoprint” / “SIZE: 40.6 x 30.5 cm” / “SOURCE: National Gallery (#2975) Gift of Douglas Duncan)” / “GLENHYRST ART GALLERY OF BRANT” / “20 AVA ROAD” / “BRANDFORD, ONTARIO” / “N3T 5G9” / “(519) 756-5932”; Accession Tag from Glenhyrst Art Gallery on linen, “970.14”; Gallery Label, “FRAMED MONO PRINT “DESCENT’” / “BY ROBERT ALLEN PATERSON APP $275.00”; Gallery No in Black Marker verso, “D#26”
Condition: Vintage, Excellent. Framed & Ready for Display.
Provenance: 1962: Douglas Duncan, Private Collection. 1962: National Gallery of Canada, No. 2975. Gift of Douglas Duncan. 1962: Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant. Permanent Collection. 2XXX: Sold Glenhyrst Art Gallery of Brant to Private Collection. 2019: Private Collection.
Artist Biography: Robert Allen PATERSON (Canada, b. 1936) OSA, CSPWC. Artist: Watercolour, Lithography, Oils, Etchings, Sculpture. Representational, impressionistic. Born in Unity, Saskatchewan, he was raised in Sudbury, Ontario. In 1963 he was recommended by the Art Gallery of Toronto as a printmaking instructor for the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative and spent much of his life teaching printmaking and carving at the Eskimo Cooperative Associations. While in the north he produced some of his own work including, portrait, figure studies and landscapes. SCHOOLING: Sudbury Arts and Crafts Club; Ontario College of Art, Toronto, under Fred Hagan, Gustav Weistman, Carl Schaefer, Alex Millar, Thomas Bowie, and Jock MacDonald. TEACHING: Sudbury Arts and Crafts Club, Dundee, Scotland; OCAD, Printmaking Department Assistant (1966-67); West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative (1963-65); Eskimo Cooperative Association (1970s); St. Clari College, Chatham; Georgian College Summer School of the Arts, Tor. (1972). MURALS: Imperial Oil (1956-57) under R. York Wilson; The O’Keefe Centre, Toronto (1960) under R. York Wilson; Imperial Oil under Sydney H. Watson; Toronto General Hospital under Sydney H. Watson; R. C. A. Victor Co., Midland (1967). PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS: Ontario Society of Artists (1963); Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (1963). AWARDS: OSA Baxter Award (1960) and travelled to Italy, Greece and Egypt; CSPWC, Crown Life, Purchase Award (1971-72) SELECT EXHIBITIONS: Creighton Mine, Ont. (1957); Seven Oaks Restaurant, Tor. (1958); Sudbury Public Lib., Ont. (1958); Picture Loan Society, Tor. (1962); Robertson Galleries, Ottawa (1965-67); Pollock Gallery, Tor. (1967); Nancy Poole’s Studio, London. (1971); Barrie Public Library, Ont. (1972); Gallery Green, Barrie (1973); Laurentian University, Sudbury (1975); Barrie Cultural Centre (1976); Gallery Pascal, Toronto (1977). Source: Many thanks to Ontario Artists and Canadian Artists.
