T00139

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Lot 64
  • 64

John Meredith 1933 - 2000

Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 CAD
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Description

  • John Meredith
  • Rio
  • signed, titled and dated /69 on the reverse
  • oil on canvas
  • 181.7 by 304.8 cm.
  • 71½ by 120 in.

Provenance

Private Collection, Toronto

Catalogue Note

Meredith was a maverick among his contemporaries. He didn't paint like any of them, he was not an easy socializer, he had a taciturn nature, and he was, or so it seemed, constantly uncertain of himself.

Nevertheless, he produced a steady stream of tough, original, thoughtful, aesthetically challenging, and brilliant work. His organizational skills when it came to painting were amazingly sure and confident, especially when he tackled large format canvases like this one. Indeed, he seemed more in his element on a grand scale than in more modestly scaled pictures.

This large painting has to be close to the apogee of Meredith's achievement. It has immense power, a complex but legible and rational composition, a technical assurance that looks to last, and it has an irrepressible joy that one would not have imagined to come from its creator.

Finally, the work has a presence that could fill a very large room with a sense of occasion. Such qualities are rare, but this painting certainly has them.