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Œuvres d'art
John FoxVictoria Basin, Montreal, 1960 (circa)1927-2008SoldInscriptions
signed, ‘J.Fox’ (lower right)Provenance
Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal;
Acquired from the above by the present owner (by 1964).
Expositions
Montreal, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2ème exposition “ Montréal, ville portuaire” 1860-1964, 6 Juin au 28 Juin, 1964 (2nd exhibition "Montreal, Harbour City" 1860-1964, June 6 to June 28, 1964).
This is a poetic view along Victoria Basin, now the "Bassin de l’horloge", looking toward the Sailors’ Memorial Tower (The Clock Tower) with the Jacques Cartier Bridge in the distance.
John Fox was a much admired and well-collected artist from the early 1950s painting in Montreal. In 1953, after returning from studies at London’s Slade School the previous year, Fox exhibited in a two-person exhibition in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' Gallery XII, a space dedicated to showcasing Montreal contemporary art. With a grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in 1955, he went to Europe, primarily visiting France and Italy. Venetian light and the opportunity to see the masterworks the great Italian museums offered visitors, and his study of contemporary French masters exhibited in Paris, had a profound maturing impact on his work.. One is inclined to suggest Bonnard may have had the greatest impact along with an influence of Matisse.
Through what one would identify as his first generation of figurative painting, up until 1971, Fox exhibited in the premiere art galleries, including Watson, Continental and Agnes Lefort Galleries in Montreal, and Laing and Roberts in Toronto.