Lot 77
ALFRED PELLAN, R.C.A.
Additional Images
Provenance:
Private Collection, Ontario
Literature:
Natalie Lukcyj, Other Realities: The Legacy of Surrealism in Canadian Art, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario, 1978, pages 9-10.
Note:
Pellan resided in Paris from 1926-1940. He was among the earliest Canadian adopters of the methods of free association related to Surrealism and his role in introducing avant-garde thought to Quebec painters cannot be underestimated. Natalie Luckyj affirms "Exhibitions of Pellan's work in both Montreal and Quebec City produced the vital impact so necessary to French-Canadian art at this time, enabling it to break away from nineteenth century traditions." Borduas himself viewed Pellan as a direct source for contemporary European ideas about art and, according to according to Luckyj, when the father of Surrealism, André Breton, visited Canada in 1944 he "ignored Borduas and Les Sagittaires, preferring to visit his old friend Pellan." Eventually, differences of opinion about the interpretation and application of Surrealist tenets drove a wedge between Pellan and Borduas, and painters who orbited them were compelled to choose a side. Those who accepted Borduas' approach became known at Les Automatistes. The group that gathered around Pellan, Prisme d'Yeux.
Painted circa 1930.