Gregory Richard Curnoe, SHAKESPEREAN ACTOR, oil on masonite, 36 ins x 24 ins; 91.4 cms x 61 cms

Lot description

GREGORY RICHARD CURNOESHAKESPEREAN ACTORoil on masoniteindistinctly inscribed on the reverse 36 ins x 24 ins; 91.4 cms x 61 cms Literature:Dennis Reid and Matthew Teitelbaum (eds.), "Some Things I Learned from Greg Curnoe," in Greg Curnoe: Life and Stuff, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 2001, page 119.Note:"And since you know you cannot see yourself,so well as by reflection, I, your glass,will modestly discover to yourself,that of yourself which you yet know not of." - Act I, Scene II, Julius CaesarCurnoe spent the majority of his life in London, Ontario but travelled to England on occasion. Using a warm, vibrant palette, Curnoe captures a Shakespearean actor in a style reminiscent of Matisse's Fauvist portraits. "Curnoe's art was about momentary experience, about pausing to look at something or someone," and he tended to spontaneously create forms rather than employ a methodic rigour to his work. Alongside his collages and lettered works, Curnoe's portraits were always autobiographical and marked important relationships that the artist made throughout his life.