- 152
Molly Lamb Bobak b.1920
Description
- Molly Lamb Bobak
- The Rink
- signed lower right MOLLY LAMB B.; signed and titled twice by the artist on the reverse, once on the stretcher
- oil on canvas
- 101.6 by 121.9 cm.
- 40 by 48 in.
Provenance
Literature
Condition
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
In 1960, Bobak was offered a position at the Art Centre at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton campus. The city became her permanent home and many crowd scenes, large, dynamic works recording public and community events were some of her best known images.
Cindy Richmond notes:
For Molly, crowds are interesting because they pose an endlessly fascinating, aesthetic challenge, and also because they embody a dynamic and anarchic principle of life to which she is powerfully drawn... Movement is the central aesthetic challenge of the crowd scenes and she sees in them a beauty and a vitality that she finds emotionally and psychologically compelling...
In The Rink, the skaters, rather than all being close to the front of the painting, are following a circular route around the edges of the ice. Seen from above, there is a sense of motion as the whole entity moves as a blur, as if in space. In a sense, we are also a part of the crowd, and, as fellow skaters, move with a vitality as we too become part of the colour, joy and excitement of the group. The bright reds and oranges of the clothing are accentuated against the space of the solid block of white which they endlessly circle.