Estimated Price:

CAD40,000 - CAD60,000

Realised Price:

CAD64,350

What is this symbol? This symbol indicates that this auction hose has verified this price result.

David Brown Milne 1882 - 1953 Canadian oil on canvas Candy Basket II 14 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches 36.8 x 47 centimeters Literature:Ian M. Thom et al, David Milne, 1991, essay by Megan Bice, page 114 David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne: Catalogue Raisonne of the Paintings Volume 2: 1929 - 1953, 1998, reproduced page 884, catalogue #406.1 and the watercolour of this subject entitled Candy Basket I reproduced page 883 Provenance:Douglas Duncan Picture Loan Society Morris Gallery, Toronto Dr. and Mrs. Taliano, St. Catherines Damjkar-Burton Gallery, Burlington, Ontario, circa 1978 R. Gauthier, Sudbury, Ontario, circa 1978 Private Collection, Toronto David Milne's painting, whether landscape or still life, was not just intended to reproduce what he so keenly perceived before him, but to reproduce the experience of contemplating it, the aesthetic thrill he received from it. As Megan Bice writes, "Milne's subject in essence was the abstract, the intangible and spiritual, the experiential level of life." In 1946, Milne was living at Uxbridge, Ontario, and in this year he returned to working in oil and to the subject of floral still life. Throughout his work, the theme of floral still life recurred, and he had previous bursts of working in this subject in 1935 and 1939. Milne took pleasure in the opulence of flowers, and in depicting reflected light in glass vases filled with water. In Candy Basket II, Milne flattens the picture plane by tilting the table top up, and uses a gestural brush-stroke in the background. Contrasts of bright and light colours in the flowers against a darker background of rich brown enliven the painting. Milne liked to include what he called dazzle spots in his work, such as at the top of the bunch of flowers. He strips away the extraneous in Candy Basket II, creating a sense of aesthetic pleasure from a few beautifully balanced and radiant objects. Milne also painted a watercolour of this subject in 1946, entitled Candy Basket I.