“…but it is extremely difficult to watch oneself working….”
–Xavier deMaistre, Voyage Around My Room, 1794.
Q: When did you first paint?
A: In 1952, when I was twelve. My friend, Robert Nunn and I walked to the edge of the St. Lawrence river (we lived in Kingston) and despoiled a canvas board each. His despoiling was better than mine; his painting was bolder, louder and more decisive than mine. He was a barely pubescent Vlaminck or Derain. My painting was timid, abashed. It was a timidity, a diffidence, I then set about to outgrow.
Q: When did you first exhibit?
A: In lots of momentary, glancing-blow places, but my first SERIOUS exhibition was in 1983, at the Jane Corkin Gallery in Toronto. It was a big show of works on Paper. I was forty-three and in the throes of teaching and writing about art—other peoples’ art.
Writer turned painter: Gary Michael Dault; the former art critic for The Star; shown here with his painting Burnished Day or Conch Of The Voice (mixed media; 1983) opened his one-man show at the Jane Corkin Gallery yesterday. The show runs until April 23.
Q: Let’s jump ahead about 40 years. How did your summer-long exhibition at the Periphery come about?
A: Entirely through the kindness and courtliness—the agency—of architect, artist and musician Dimitri Papatheodorou, for whom the Periphery is both a country home and a six-acre estate-wide workshop near the pastoral, pixilated village of Warkworth, Ontario. Papatheodorou describes the Periphery as a landscape containing visual art, music, performance and architecture, seeing it as a “time-based project” where he pursues his painting (in the exquisite new studio he has recently designed and had built) and, in a spacious gallery next to it, mounts summer-long exhibitions of some artist whose work he likes (last summer’s exhibition was of paintings by Toronto-based artist Greg Angus).
Q: What makes up your Periphery exhibition?
A: It’s in two parts. The first is a small retrospective, a mounting of a dozen works on paper from 2005 to 2015. The second part, titled Passatempi, Painting in the Meantime, is a wall-sized array of about 75 recent small paintings (acrylic with collage) on rough hunks of raw cardboard, some of them (my favourites) only a few inches wide.
Q: What are they like?
A: They’re muscular and messy, wildly gestural, impatient, ecstatic, frenetic and as far as I’m concerned, almost unbearably beautiful. They make my chest tight.
Q: They are, as you say, awfully small. Why?
A: Because they are painted on very small pieces of throwaway cardboard—distaff, disreputable, ignoble shardsof cardboard, a lot of which come to me as the wrappings around books I’ve ordered or the boxes some foodstuffs like pasta come in. I save them all for painting. I love cardboard. I like its used look. It has a history.
Q: When do you paint?
A: Between writing poems. Which is to say, all the time.
Q: How long do you spend on a painting?
A: About 2-3 minutes. 5 minutes tops.
Q: What’s the rush?
A: I’m getting old. I’m eighty-five now.
Q: That’s the reason?
A: Nah. In fact, I’ve always worked that way. Back in 2010, when I was exhibiting my 1 Minute Cereal Box Landscapes everywhere, each one of them took me only a minute apiece. I’d make a whole exhibition in an hour. Labouring over a painting is okay, I guess, if you’re Magritte or somebody.
Q: What do you like about these rapid-fire cardboards?
A: Their hecticity, the rush of them, the meaning (sometimes august, symbolic and even mythic) that always—always—emerges from them. Not one of them is ever non-representational. And yet not one of them knows where it’s going when it starts out.
Q: What if you make a mistake?
A: I can’t. If a painting begins not to work—to bore me, for example—I subject it to some cleansing, cataclysmic event, like a sluicing of white paint—and then I start in to fix it. I haven’t lost one yet.
Q: How did you decide on their installation?
A: Dimitri did that. He’s an architect. He has a perfect sense of form.
Henry Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. His sculpture style was significantly influenced by his experience as a soldier in World War I. Moore also produced many drawings, including a series depicting the Second World War, along with other graphic works and studies on paper.
Marino Marini (27 February 1901 – 6 August 1980) was an Italian sculpture and educator. He initially trained as a painter in Florence before transitioning to sculpture. While he continued to engage in drawing and painting, Marini focused mainly on sculpture starting around 1922. Known for his figurative sculptures, particularly the “horse and rider” theme, which he explored throughout his career. In 1929, he took over from Arturo Martini as a professor at the Scuola d’Arte di Villa Reale in Monza, close to Milan, Italy, a role he held until 1940.
Henry Moore and Marino Marini, 1970, (detail) Gelatin silver print by Yousuf Karsh
Henry Moore and Marino Marini were introduced in 1951 by the New York art dealer Curt Valentin, leading to a significant friendship that endured throughout their careers. They often met along the Tuscan coast in Italy during the 1960s and 1970s, where Marini lived and Moore had a vacation residence. Both artists sought to revisit and modernize the European sculptural tradition, which Tuscany offered many exceptional examples. They shared numerous creative interests and held deep admiration for one another. Together, they cultivated a network of friendships and professional relationships with notable artists and intellectuals, including Jean Arp, Max Beckmann, Salvador Dali, Alexander Calder, Yves Tanguy, Lyonel Feininger, Alberto Giacometti, and Jacques Lipchitz.
Marino Marini, Due Figure, 1941, oil, tempera, pen, india ink, brown ink and pastel on paper (13.5 x 10.25 inches)
It is intriguing to note that both artists subconsciously exhibited remarkably similar artistic styles in their drawings, particularly in their early drawings from the 1940s. Their drawings predominantly focused on potential sculptural figures, as demonstrated in the drawings presented here. The figures in Marini’s Due Figure from 1941, created with oil, tempera, pen, India ink, brown ink, and pastel on paper, and Moore’s DrapedStanding Figures in Red from 1944, executed in pencil, ink, wax crayon, and watercolour, reveal a striking resemblance when placed side by side. Both artists are utilizing mixed media materials on paper of comparable dimensions. It is clear that these illustrations depict figures arranged as non-objective prospective subjects in a sculptural context. The Vatican Museum contains a small drawing by Moore and features a collection specifically focused on Marini’s early works on paper.
Henry Moore, Draped Standing Figures in Red, 1944, pencil, ink, wax crayon and watercolour (15.75 x 12.25 inches)
Two talented artists who unknowingly shared a strikingly similar artistic journey in their early works. Both artists hailed from different backgrounds (Marini from Italy, Moore from England) but found their calling in the realm of art, showcasing unique perspectives and creative flair in their works on paper. From a young age, these artists displayed a natural inclination towards art, doodling on any surface they could find and immersing themselves in colours and shapes that ignited their imagination. Haunted by the war and the suffering of civilians he observed during the bombings, Moore’s artistic themes were significantly shaped by these experiences. Meanwhile, Marini’s artistic style underwent a transformation due to the war, moving away from the smoother, classical forms of his earlier works towards a more jagged, Expressionist style that reflected his anxieties and disillusionment with humanity in the aftermath of the war.
Combining the enigmatic allure of artistic expression with the intricacies of the subconscious mind, the intriguing parallels between two renowned artists’ early works have captivated art enthusiasts and scholars alike. It’s a fascinating intersection of creativity, influence, and individual style as these artists, perhaps unknowingly, manifested remarkably similar artistic techniques in their works during the formative stages of their careers. Through a journey of discovery and analysis, we can unravel the threads that connect these artists’ early artistic endeavours, shedding light on the subconscious forces at play in shaping their distinctive visual languages.
Left: Marino Marini, Pomona, 1943, oil, pastel and black crayon on paper (15.12 x 11.12 inches). Right: Henry Moore, Two Women and a child, 1940, pencil, wax crayon, coloured crayon, watercolour wash and ink (15.75 x 11.75 inches)
Despite their unique perspectives, these artists often incorporated similar elements in their compositions, from the arrangement of subjects to the harmonious blend of colours that evoked a sense of unity and cohesion in their artworks. It is intriguing to explore how unconscious influences, such as personal experiences, emotions, and cultural backgrounds, may have shaped the artists’ early artistic expressions. Delving into the depths of the subconscious unveils a rich tapestry of inspiration within their works. They collectively transformed classical sculpture into a more figurative semi-abstract style that aligned with contemporary trends.
They shared a profound admiration for Michelangelo’s sculptures, particularly David (1501-1504) and Pietà (1498-1499), the latter illustrating Mary holding the lifeless body of Jesus after the Crucifixion. Both masterpieces were crafted from marble extracted from the nearby Carrara quarries. Notably, the Pietà is distinguished as the only artwork that Michelangelo ever signed. On 21 May 1972, this sculpture, located in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, suffered damage when a mentally unstable geologist, originally from Hungary and residing in Australia, entered the chapel and assaulted the statue with a geologist’s hammer, proclaiming, ‘I am Jesus Christ; I have risen from the dead!’.
Henry Moore, Reclining Figure, 1969-1970, Bronze with brown patina
On the 15 December, 2005, a bronze statue by Moore, entitled Reclining Figure (1969-1970), depicting an abstract female figure, lying on her back with her legs raised and feet grounded, supported on one arm and resting on her hip. Valued at £3 million, was stolen from the courtyard of the Henry Moore Foundation located in Perry Green, Hertfordshire, England. The sculpture which weighed 2.1 tons and measured 3.6 metres in length was lifted using a crane and transported away on a flatbed truck. It is believed that the statue was melted down and sold for £5,000 as scrap metal. Six casts of the reclining figure were created in total.
Marino Marini, The Angel of the City, 1948, Bronze with brown patina
Marini’s sculpture titled The Angel of the City(1948) a seminal work by the Italian artist depicts a nude man sitting with outstretched arms on a horse. There are castings on display at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, as well as the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. This piece was one of Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, USA’s most prominent pieces of art lost during a flood at Bear Run Nature Reserve in August 1956. The sculpture was part of the Kaufmann family collection and was lost for years until found in fragments in August 2009.
Both artists achieved global recognition during their careers, showcasing their art work at prominent museum exhibitions and receiving numerous accolades worldwide for their work. Both are in collections with works in hundreds of galleries, museums and public spaces throughout the world.
Marino Marini, Ballerino, 1954, Bronze with dark brown patina (left) Henry Moore, Mother and child, 1980, Bronze with dark brown patina (right)
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is home to the world’s most extensive public collection of Henry Moore’s art, encompassing sculptures, maquettes, and works on paper, largely donated by the artist himself during the years 1971 to 1974. The Henry Moore Sculpture Centre was inaugurated at the AGO in 1974 to showcase Moore’s original donation and has since become a landmark in Toronto.
The Marino Marini Museum, located in Florence, Italy, is dedicated to the artist’s legacy and creations. Occupying the former San Pancrazio Church, the museum displays a rich collection of Marini’s sculptures, paintings, and drawings, offering valuable insights into his artistic progression and journey.
The art world is a realm where new discoveries occur on a daily basis. While some may argue that finding a life-changing bargain is improbable, the reality is that such opportunities do exist, often emerging unexpectedly. Artworks are unearthed regularly in the most surprising locations. One must simply open their eyes and comprehend what they are observing.
N. C. Wyeth, Ramona, Frontispiece illustration, 1939, oil on panel
N. C. Wyeth (1882-1945). A woman bought a painting measuring 25-1/8 x 16-7/8 inches in a frame 28 x 19-1/2 inches for $4 at a thrift store, primarily for its frame. This was the aspiration of a woman as she rummaged through a collection of old frames during her visit to Savers, a thrift store located in New Hampshire. This situation highlights the notion that a frame can sometimes be more valuable than the artwork it holds. Only to later learn that the painting within the frame was an N.C. Wyeth original artwork valued at around $150,000 to $250,000 USD. The identification of the painting as the work of the esteemed American painter and illustrator N.C. Wyeth was facilitated by an art conservator based in Maine.
The American painter, whose life spanned from 1882 to 1945, had an extensive career that included creating illustrations for magazines and authors over several decades. The painting found in a thrift store has been identified as one of four potential cover designs for the 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson’s novel, Ramona. This story follows the life of a fictional girl of mixed Scottish and Native American heritage, who is left orphaned shortly after the Mexican-American War concluded in 1848. In this piece, Wyeth illustrates a critical moment in the story, where Ramona adopts a defiant posture in front of her adoptive mother, Señora Moreno, whose chilly disposition is effectively represented by her stark black dress.
The details regarding how this artwork came to be in a New Hampshire thrift shop are still unknown. The painting was eventually sold 19 September 2023 for $191,000 USD at Bonhams Skinner Auctions in Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA.
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, The Adoration of the Kings, circa 1628, oil on oak panel
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669). The painting titled The Adoration of The Kings, an oil on oak panel measuring 24.5 x 18.5 cm (9-5/8 x 7-1/4 inches), created circa 1628 which possesses a distinctive provenance that traces back to Amsterdam. It was first recorded in an estate inventory sale on 17 May 1715, listed as lot 1. Subsequently, it was sold in London at Phillips on 2 June 1814, listed as lot 40, where it fetched 215 Guineas. The artwork was later presented for sale again in London at Phillips on 29 June 1822, identified as “by” Rembrandt van Rijn, under the title The Adoration of the Magi. On 27 March 1963, it was auctioned at Sotheby’s in London listed as lot 13, as “by” Rembrandt van Rijn, but went unsold at £3,800. The piece was eventually sold in Amsterdam at Christie’s on 3 December 1985, cataloged as “Circle of” Rembrandt van Rijn. It reappeared at an online auction at Christie’s in Amsterdam on 6 October 2021, listed as lot 7, also attributed to “Circle of” Rembrandt van Rijn, with an estimated value of 10,000-15,000 EUR, ultimately achieving a sale price of 860,000 EUR. The auction house catalogued it as a work from the “circle of” Rembrandt however the interest shown in the bidding indicated that several bidders suspected it might truly be a creation of the Old Master.
Following a thorough analysis that incorporated infrared and x-ray imaging, along with evaluations by prominent Rembrandt scholars, experts have reattributed the small Biblical painting, which had been absent from historical records for many years, to Rembrandt van Rijn. The characteristics typical of his late 1620s style are apparent in both the visible painted surface and the underlying layers uncovered through scientific methods, revealing numerous alterations made during its creation and providing new insights into his artistic process.
Sotheby’s has confirmed that the artwork is indeed an authentic Rembrandt. It was featured in the auction house’s evening sale of Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings listed as lot 11, held in London on 6 December 2023, with an estimated value ranging from 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 GBP. Ultimately, the piece was sold for a final bid price of 10,965,300 GBP.
Giorgio da Castelfranco (Giorgione), Portrait of Giovanni Borgherini and Trifone Gabriele, 1509/1510, oil on canvas
Giorgio da Castelfranco (Giorgione) (1473/74–1510). A remarkable discovery has been made by an interdisciplinary team of scholars and scientists at the Alte Pinakothek and the Doerner Institute in Munich, Germany. Comprehensive art-historical and art-technological studies, undertaken as part of a research initiative focused on the Venetian Renaissance paintings within the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections), have validated the insights that began to surface during the exhibition ‘Venezia 500 The Gentle Revolution of Venetian Painting’ from October 2023 to February 2024.
The enigmatic double portrait, titled Portrait of Giovanni Borgherini and Trifone Gabriele, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 67 cm (36 x 26-1/4 inches) painted in 1509/10 previously showcased at the Grüne Galerie in the Munich Residenz since 2011 and currently housed in the Alte Pinakothek, has been ascribed to Giorgio da Castelfranco, commonly referred to as Giorgione.
Giorgione, an influential Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, died in 1510 at a young age in his thirties. Originating from the quaint town of Castelfranco Veneto, which is also the birthplace of my father, Peter Bernardi, who was born in 1935. The town is situated 40 kilometers inland from Venice. An important milestone in Giorgione’s life was his encounter with Leonardo da Vinci in the year 1500. Giorgione is celebrated for the elusive and poetic nature of his artwork. However, only a limited number of paintings can be definitively attributed to him. The ambiguity surrounding the identity and interpretation of his pieces has rendered Giorgione one of the most enigmatic figures in European art history. He is widely regarded as the first Italian to incorporate landscapes as a background for figures in his paintings. In addition to altarpieces and portraits, he created works that lacked a narrative, whether biblical or classical, focusing instead on conveying moods of lyrical or romantic sentiment through form and colour.
This attribution positions it among the rare known works of this remarkably gifted artist, whose brief career significantly transformed Renaissance painting. The research results, represent a remarkable breakthrough in the study of Italian Renaissance art.
Artemisia Gentileschi, Penitent Mary Magdalene, circa 1625/1626, oil on canvas
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653). The Kimbell Art Museum, located in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, has acquired a significant work by Artemisia Gentileschi. This painting is believed to be the original of a composition that has been replicated in several copies, a masterpiece once thought to be lost. Numerous reproductions of this artwork exist, including one that was auctioned in Genoa at Cambi Auction House on 30 June 2020. This particular copy, Lot 121 listed as “After” Artemisia Gentileschi, had an estimated value of 5,000-6,000 EUR but ultimately sold for 47,500 EUR.
For years, scholars have been in pursuit of this artwork, which had been thought to be lost. The painting titled Penitent Mary Magdalene circa 1625-1626, oil on canvas, 109.22 x 93.98 cm (43 x 37 inches) was first acquired, by Fernando Enríquez Afán de Ribera, the third duke of Alcalá and viceroy of Naples, during his role as the Spanish ambassador to Rome from 1625 to 1626. It was believed in the 18th century that the duke might have commissioned Artemisia, as indicated by the references to the painting in the inventories of his collection. The painting was later displayed in his Seville home, the Casa de Pilatos, where it became renowned and was widely reproduced.
Following the passing of the Duke of Alcalá, the painting was retained by his heirs in Seville until it vanished completely. It resurfaced at Tajan Auction House Old Master Paintings sale in France 19 December 2001, Lot 7, where it was attributed to the “studio/workshop” of Artemisia Gentileschi. Bidders, under the impression that it was an original creation, ultimately purchased it for $206,441, a figure that greatly exceeded the high estimate of $11,000. Artemisia’s artwork has achieved sales figures reaching as high as $5,259,897 USD. Subsequently, it was acquired by a private collection and remained there until Adam Williams Fine Art Ltd. of New York purchased it on behalf of the Kimbell Art Museum in 2024. The artwork is displayed in the section of the museum dedicated to showcasing other masterpieces of early 17th-century Italian painting, alongside renowned works such as Caravaggio’s The Bari (circa 1595) and Guercino’s Christ and the Samaritan Woman (circa 1619-1620).
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Il Guercino), Moses, 1618–1619, oil on canvas
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (Il Guercino) (1591-1666). An oil on canvas painting depicting Moses, and measuring 72 x 63 cm (28-1/4 x 24-3/4 inches), was consigned to a sale held at Hôtel Drouot in Paris 25 November 2022, which was organized by the Paris auction house Chayette & Cheval. At that time, the artwork was attributed to an unidentified “follower’ of Guido Reni from the 17th-century Bolognese school, with an estimated value ranging from €5,000 to €6,000.The catalogue of Chayette & Cheval indicated that the auction house had contemplated attributing the work to Guercino, citing the fact that a replica of the same composition by his student Benedetto Zalone was presented by the Franco Semenzato auction house in Venice in 2001. However, the catalogue did not disclose the reasons for dismissing this evidence.
The artwork evidently attracted the discerning attention of at least two bidders, who engaged in a competitive auction. Ultimately, an Italian Old Master expert emerged victorious, securing the piece for an impressive €590,000. However, this amount pales in comparison to the painting’s true worth, which is estimated to be around €2 million.
Over the following year, the astute dealer commenced the process of restoring the painting and verifying its provenance. After months of careful examination, experts announced that the newly discovered painting was actually completed bythe Italian Baroque master Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as Il Guercino. A measured risk was undertaken, as acquiring a painting in a dirty condition inherently carries a degree of uncertainty.
Recent studies indicate that this artwork was created circa 1618 or 1619, during Guercino’s late twenties while he resided in Cento, near Bologna. This timeframe positions it as a quintessential representation of the artist’s esteemed prima maniera, a term that refers to the pieces he crafted prior to his relocation to Rome in 1621.
The painting of Moses was initially part of the esteemed collection belonging to Cardinal Alessandro d’Este in Rome. Following his passing in 1624, it remained within his family. It is believed that during the years 1796-97, the painting was likely seized by Napoleon’s troops in Modena and transported to France.
Guercino’s depiction of Moses has been purchased by the charitable foundation of Jacob Rothschild. The painting is set to be permanently showcased at Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, managed by the Rothschild Foundation on behalf of the National Trust.
Anthony van Dyck, A Study for Saint Jerome, circa 1615-1618, oil on canvas
Anthony van Dyck(1599-1641). An Anthony van Dyck painting, titled A Study for Saint Jerome, has been rediscovered. This oil on canvas piece measures 95 by 58.5 cm (37½ by 23 inches) and was previously left in a dilapidated state in a farm shed located in Kinderhook, New York. It was acquired for a mere $600 USD. It was not until after the collector’s death in 2021 that his family opted to auction the piece, at which point it was identified as a Van Dyck.
The portrait depicts a nude man sitting on a stool and was likely painted between 1615 and 1618 when Van Dyck was working with Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp. This piece serves as a study for a subsequent work by the Flemish master titled St. Jerome. The completed painting is currently housed in the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam.
The artwork was offered for sale at Sotheby’s Old Master Painting auction in New York on 26 January 2023, listed as Lot 110, with an estimated value of $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 USD, ultimately selling for $3,075,000 USD.
“I don’t look at my collection as much as I should but, I know it’s around me all of the time.” Timeless words spoken by Canadian artist and art collector Ben Woolfitt. He started collecting early in life, slowly, and most of the time without having a lot of money. There were times when Ben didn’t have enough money to pay rent. Yet, he couldn’t imagine having a life without art.
Ben Woolfitt sitting next to his bed with (from top down) Adolf Gottlieb, Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, (to the right) Milton Avery and Ray Mead
No truer words have been spoken. His fabulous loft proudly displays his own works of art, paintings and drawings, amidst a carefully curated collection of internationally well-known artists. The Toronto loft showcases numerous paintings, drawings, and watercolours by such notable artists as Jack Bush, Jules Olitski, Milton Avery, Larry Poons, Hans Hoffman, Adolph Gottlieb, William Ronald, John Meredith, Ken Noland, Ron Davis, Ellsworth Kelly and William Kurelek, to name a few.
Ben Woolfitt in front of Larry Poons Untitled #2, 1972 acrylic on canvas
File drawers contain gems of drawings including 3 Helen Frankenthaler’s and collectible artists’ books such as rare signed editions by Antoni Tapies. His New York Manhattan apartment showcases the same sensibility boasting a beautiful Milton Avery oil.
Ben points to a massive Jack Bush on his wall behind his sofa which he considers to be a major piece of Canadian art. “He’s unbelievable and he’s respected internationally” Ben says. I remember going to New York in 2010 to see the Jack Bush at Christies. In the photographic reproduction of the painting, Christies had trimmed off all the rough parts along the edges, so it looked very tight, and the image itself was very dark. I purchased the Bush, which is probably now worth significantly more than the original purchase price.
Ben Woolfitt standing in front of Jack Bush Bluegold, 1973 acrylic on canvas
Which do you prefer, the search or the acquisition?
They go hand in hand. The search is fine. I saw a Hoffman that I really wanted to buy, and I went down to the auction. I sat with my friend Ken Carpenter and the auction house brought the piece out for inspection. I just about passed out because Ken was totally convinced that the piece wasn’t good. He said you don’t want to go for this one. It was a mash up of colours and the colour was off. So, I sat through the auction. The Hoffman went way over the estimates. I didn’t have the money to purchase it as it exceeded my limit at the time. When you buy a piece of art by any artist, you generally buy more than one or several works by the same artist if possible.
If you had to pick one piece out of your collection, what piece would be the one piece that totally steals your heart?
That’s difficult. I have a Hans Hoffman that is just amazing. I love Jules Olitski. I bought two of them. I have a beautiful little Milton Avery in New York. I have a Tim Whitten. It’s a real beauty. Collecting is an interesting thing. Some people say that collecting art is a sickness. I’ll tell you what I think collecting is. You buy what you can afford but you know, it’s like anything else in life. You go along and you buy a drawing by an artist and if it holds your interest, then you buy more by the same artist, and it all kind of comes together to form a collection.
What was one of the first pieces that you bought?
Ellsworth Kelly. It’s a print. I paid a $100 for it. I took it home on the streetcar. It was spring of 1968 I believe. I sketched it and that’s when I realized the drawing was very complex. After I sketched it, I called David Mirvish and in that conversation I told him that I had made a decision to become a painter.
File drawers containing drawings, works on paper and collectible artists’ books. Art work (From left to right) two small William Ronalds and one large William Ronald, John Meredith, Otto Rogers and William Kureleks
Is there an artist’s work that you don’t own but would wish to buy to add to your collection?
Well of course I would be going back to the masters, Rogier Van Der Weyden and Alberto Giacometti. I’ve always had a thing for Giacometti. My early drawings were all “Giacomettiish. I remember being at the National Gallery in London, England. I remember the room I wanted to enter in order to see the Van Der Weydens and all of that kind of work. It reminds me of a similar story where Grant Goodbrand, a longtime close friend of 50 years goes into a museum, and enters the room where he wants to see something in particular. He stays there till lunch, leaves and then comes back after lunch. The next morning, he comes back and does the same thing. On the third morning when Grant arrives, the guard in that room says: “You know, we do have other paintings”. Grant knew he might never have an opportunity to go back to that museum but, he wanted to know the work. When I focus on a particular work, that work has to be imprinted in my mind. For me, regardless of the many museums I have visited, I can actually walk back into a particular room in my head, and I can see that one piece.
How did you enter the world of abstraction?
I started to find out about abstraction through artists like Cy Twombly and Barnett Newman. I met Barnett at an opening in New York when I would have been around 21 years of age. We kept circling around one another and I finally approached him and said: “I love your work”. I couldn’t have said any more than that. At the time I didn’t realize how important and how rare that moment was.
Ben Woolfitt in his loft with Ron Davis, Cuffs, 1969 diptych polyester resin and fibreglass
I also love Jasper Johns. I wish I had bought Johns at a reasonable price, but that time is over. I’ve known many Canadian artists. I knew most of the Painters Eleven. They were always coming through my arts supply store (Ben owned Woolfitt’s Art Supplies on Queen Street West in downtown Toronto) and we were doing business. I’ve also met Alex Colville and Christopher Pratt.
I used to sell paper and I knew more about fine art paper than anyone else. I knew all the machines and I’ve been to every factory. I imported 120,000 pounds of fine art paper and rag board a year. When visiting buyers and in particular, if they needed a particular width of paper, I could tell them the factory that supplied this. I could tell you what kind of water they use, how pure it is. The National Gallery of Canada, the AGO, and every museum in Canada bought from us. We were designated for this and we shipped everywhere.
One of the things I notice looking around your space is that you don’t really have any figurative works.
“I do actually – just not hung”. I do have the William Kurelek up but, that’s almost an abstraction too because the bulk of the piece is sky. When I look at a painting and it has a figure in it, I don’t care about the figure. It’s irrelevant to me. I just want to know how it works so, to me, looking at an Edgar Degas or a Jackson Pollock, it’s all the same. Really. It’s just a matter of whether it works or not and how people use the space within the canvas. If someone has any base knowledge of art they would know who the artist is just by looking at the image.
Ben Woolfitt in his bedroom with two works by William Ronald (top) Dolly, 1980 oil on canvas and (bottom) The Moon and You, 1980 oil on canvas
Do you have any interesting art stories about some of the artists you have met?
William (Bill) Ronald owed money for rent and supplies. I did a deal for him as a courtesy. There was a collector who was always going on about “I’m going to buy this and I’m going to buy that”. He was very wealthy. So, I said you should buy some of Bill’s work in an effort to help Bill out and also receive money Bill owed me. I remember helping Bill put something like 25 paintings around the room, all canvases. The collector walked in with a babe on his arm. Bill probably bumped up the prices on the works but, Bill was on his best behaviour. The collector walks around the room looking from one painting to another. “So honey what do you think? They’re nice huh? Should I buy them all?” OMG this is sick. Anyway, the collector buys everything and says: “You know Bill, if I change my mind on some of the pieces I don’t like, I’ll be able to return them.“ Bill replied: “Yeah yeah of course. I‘ll write it out.” Bill was always in need of money. Anyway, the collector came back about six weeks later, and he says he wants to see Bill because he wants to return a couple of paintings. Bill is sitting in his studio as the collector walks towards him telling him he wants to return a few paintings. The atmosphere wasn’t great. At this moment, Bill lurches out of his chair and says: “You know I used to be a boxer. I’m going to knock your f***ing head off your shoulders”. End of deal. End of story.
Recently, we went to see the exhibition of Rae Johnson’s work at the Christopher Cutts Gallery on Morrow Avenue in downtown Toronto. Several large-scale landscape paintings were shown among smaller more intimate landscapes. Johnson, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, studied at the New School of Art in Toronto from 1975 to 1976 and continued her education at the Ontario College of Art from 1977 to 1980. As a distinguished female Canadian artist, she lived and created art in Toronto during the 1980s before relocating to Flesherton, Ontario, in 1987. She stated that Robert Markle, one of her educators, was her most significant influence. She passed away in 2020. The opening event was attended by Rae Johnson’s children, Adrian, Joslyn and June.
Rae Johnson, Sunset, Lake Winnipeg, 1988, oil on wood, 244 x 366 cm
Her artistic expression captures the diverse experiences of life in her immediate surroundings. Her artwork ranges from representations of demons and ethereal beings in the snow, to angelic figures, scenes of indulgence, intimate moments in bathtubs, depictions of societal outcasts, inebriated individuals, saintly figures, and verdant landscapes reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. Her creations explore the intersection of the sacred and the profane. She often portrayed her studio or living space, utilizing friends and her children as subjects.
Joslyn Rogers in front of Rae Johnson’s oil painting Janet’s Living Room, 1998, oil on wood.
We sat down with her daughter Joslyn Rogers who works in the entertainment industry as an Actor/Writer/Director for a candid interview.
What was life like as the child of an artist?
I was raised in a creative environment. I had the privilege of being the child of two talented individuals. My mother Rae Johnson was a gifted visual artist. My father, Clarke Rogers, was the artistic director from 1982-1987 of Theatre Passe Muraille, a Canadian alternative theatre company that champions independent and experimental performances.
I remember playing in my mother’s various studios. She would be painting into the night, listening to Nirvana or Jimi Hendrix, and I would be finger painting beside her. I remember falling asleep to the clickety-clack of my father’s typewriter, and playing backstage at his rehearsals. When I was a baby we were in-between apartments so we slept on the set of ‘Jessica’, a play by Linda Griffiths and Maria Campbell. My father was directing the play and my mother painted the poster for it.
Rae Johnson, Night Games at Paradise, 1984, oil on canvas, 213.4 x 335.3 cm
We moved out of Toronto in the late 1980s and bought a country property in Flesherton, Ontario. We had acres of forest around us and a pond which became the muse for mother’s paintings over the next decade. Flesherton was an artist community so most of my friends were children of artists, like the daughters of painter Harold Klunder and sculptor performance artist Catherine Carmichael. Regardless of where we lived, our living rooms always transformed into my mother’s creative workspace. We frequently attended art shows alongside her eclectic circle of friends, including her close companions and fellow artists Tom Dean, Sybil Goldstein and Lorne Wagman.
My sister, brother, and I were often left to our own devices, and would play from morning until night out in the sprawling woods surrounding our house. We became very attuned to nature, to the spirits of the forest, and were given the freedom to explore the imaginary worlds we would create in play.
Rae Johnson, Unknown Title (Rae’s bedroom and studio in Flesherton), 1995, oil on wood panel, 121.9 x 182.9 cm
After the death of my father, my family moved back to Toronto. It’s only now as an adult that I can truly appreciate the clan I grew up with and belong to, and that when I declared to my mother as a little girl that I wanted to be an actress, I was met with encouragement and not “get a real job”.
My mother, Rae, was an integral part of the Toronto arts community during the late 1970s and early 1980s. During this time, a collective emerged, ChromaZone, a vibrant creative group dedicated to reintroducing figurative painting to Toronto, featuring notable figures such as Brian Burnett, Oliver Girling, Andy Fabo, Sybil Goldstein and Tony Wilson. My mother was also an associate professor at OCADU. It’s stunning how influential she was.
Tell us what you know about your mother’s relationship with Brian Burnett?
Brian and my mother met at The New School of Art in Toronto as students. They quickly fell in love and had my brother Adrian. My mother told me about being poor students with a babe in arms, living in artist warehouses, and the “art wars” between them – spending nights trying to out-paint one another. Tom Dean remembers visiting Rae and Brian at their illegal apartment on Niagara street, which they had converted mostly into their studio with floor to ceiling paintings and a giant mound of dirty baby diapers in the centre of it all. Brian and Rae were budding artists together. They played in experimental art bands, one called Niagara, and another called DogSound, with other local Queen West visual artists like Micheal Merrill, Alan Glicksman, Lorne Wagman, and Derek Caines. They were ambitious, hot young art stars, and found their artistic voices together. They had the best art dealers in town: Brian was with Av Issacs, and Rae with Carmen Lamanna. I can see how they influenced each other in their respective paintings which share surrealist, dream-like qualities. Sometimes I can even see representations of each other in their work.
Rae Johnson, Winter Angel, 2018, oil and graphite on canvas, 139.7 x 129.5 cm
They broke up in the mid 80s after nearly a decade together. It was devastating to my mother, who nearly had a mental breakdown but, that led to some of her most powerful paintings which now belong to permanent collections throughout Canada.
What do you recall about Rae’s art work?
When I think of my mother’s work, I recall my own life. When we were living in Florence, she was working on a series titled “Bambino Miracolo”, which was exhibited at the Canadian Cultural Centre in Rome, Italy. They were large scale oil paintings inspired by the horrific images coming out of the Bosnian war at the time. Embedded in the painted scenes were dying babies attached to intrusive medical devices and renaissance angels guarding over top.
My life has been chronicled through my mother’s paintings. She painted our property in Flesherton, every season, every time of day. She painted portraits of her friends, every studio she inhabited, the storms and sunsets over Lake Winnipeg where our family cottage was, and she painted us, her children. I appear in her paintings at every stage of my life: as a baby, a young girl, and even as an adult. One of the most inspiring qualities about my mother was that she always painted. My father committed suicide by hanging in our Flesherton forest in 1996. From that came a body of work she called “The Black and White Series” and “The Premonition Drawings”. Like the titles suggest, they are black and white, often interiors of her bedroom with ghostly figures lurking in the shadows.
Did Rae favour figurative work over landscape painting?
My mother didn’t start painting landscapes until the late 1980’s after moving to Flesherton. She said she began in secret, afraid the new subject matter would be perceived as an affront to her well established style of “urban nightmares.” To her, this transition to painting nature was her most daring work. She also proclaimed that painting the sunsets over our Flesherton Pond was where she learned how to paint light. My mother’s paintings have a narrative spirit, and she would alternate between figurative and landscape for the rest of her life, each reflecting her inner soul.
Rae Johnson, The Opponent, 1982, acrylic on canvas, 167.6 x 203.2 cm
I believe that good artists are visionaries, often unacknowledged or misunderstood in their own time. After taking on her artistic estate, I have been working alongside the new generation of curators and artists. They seem to understand and appreciate my mother’s work and that of her contemporaries. My mother was ahead of her time, waiting to be rediscovered.
