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Harold TownUntitled, 'Single Autographic Print' (1950s) - abstract, framed, monoprint1955
1955
About the Item
The singularly brilliant Harold Town, one of the most celebrated abstract artists from the Painters Eleven group formed in Toronto in the 1950s. A fellow artist introduced him to printmaking in 1953, and after buying his own lithography press, Town began to create a series of unique compositions often based on everyday objects or scenes. The process involved creating patterns through many layers of overprinting. The autographic print series was first exhibited in the mid-fifties. Two years later the National Gallery of Canada nominated Harold Town to represent his country at the prestigious Venice Biennale. This untitled print is rendered in hues of gray and black highlighted with pale blue and sage green.
“Any artist that doesn’t think he’s the best should quit.” Harold Town
Born in Toronto in 1924, he loved drawing as a child and specialized in art in high school. Town attended the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) for two years. He found trips to the local museums and galleries to view the Old Masters more inspiring. By the age of 20 he was able to reproduce the work of Edgard Degas. He found work as a commercial artist for years while still pursuing his own craft. In the 1950s he was instrumental in setting up an artist’s collective dubbed Painters Eleven that introduced abstract art to Canadian audiences and ignited the local art scene in Toronto. By the 1960s his work was critically acclaimed, and prints were purchased by the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Town achieved early financial success as an artist when few did. He died in 1990. His work is held in major public institutions and in many private collections in the US and Canada.
FRAMED: 29 × 23.75 in
- Creator:Harold Town (1924 - 1990, Canadian)
- Creation Year:1955
- Dimensions:Height: 21 in (53.34 cm)Width: 16 in (40.64 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Bloomfield, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU29111023982
Harold Town
Harold Town remains one of the most accomplished and fascinating characters from the Painters Eleven group. While Town coined the group's name (based on the number of artists, who simply attended their first meeting) his output was diverse, ever-changing and not restricted to painting. Somewhat ironically, his first significant body of work, which established his reputation as a group of monotypes - which he called Single Autographic Prints. Town was introduced to lithography by fellow painters Eleven member Oscar Cahen. The Single Autographic Prints were first exhibited in 1954. Two years later the National Gallery of Canada would successfully nominate him to represent the nation at the Venice Biennale. By the end of the decade, Town received international accolades for these works and had become one of the most admired artists in Canada. This complex mauve-hued example of a Single Autographic Print is Harold Town at his best; layered, rich colors creating a hypnotic inimitable abstract surface. This type of SAP is particularly sought-after as it is one of the earliest and features a distinct graphic collage-like composition made up of blocky shapes. Such elements would become signatures in Town's oeuvre. An essential work for any collection of post-war Canadian abstraction.
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