Lot 149
  • 149

Takao Tanabe b. 1926

Estimate
8,000 - 10,000 CAD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Takao Tanabe
  • The Land 40/75
  • signed lower right Tanabe; signed Takao Tanabe, titled and inscribed Banff on the reverse ; also signed Tanabe and dated Oct. 1975 on the stretcher
  • acrylic on canvas
  • 66 by 111.8 cm.
  • 26 by 44 in.

Provenance

Marlborough - Godard Gallery, Toronto/Montreal

Private Collection, Toronto

Literature

Ian Thom, Roald Nasgaard, Nancy Tousley and Jeffrey Spalding, Takao Tanabe, Toronto, 2005, p. 72 and pp. 70 to 93 for a discussion of the Prairie Paintings

Condition

This painting is in very good condition with no apparent issues under UV. There are minor scuffs along the bottom.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Tanabe lived in Banff from 1973 to 1980 and, according to Tousley, painted approximately 200 variations on the prairie theme.  She writes, "It was as if Tanabe moved to the mountains, which were freighted with certain art historical traditions only to turn his back on them."

While Tanabe began the series in the early 1970s, Tousley notes that:

(h)is idea of painting the prairie, his fascination with a flat, seemingly empty landscape and how he might go about painting it, had been germinating since the 1950s when, in his twenties, he had studied with the abstract expressionist painter Hans Hofmann in New York...