3 Willows #2 (1935) 16.25 x 25.75 tempera on card
September 8 – 29, 2012
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8, 11 – 1 p.m.
INGRAM GALLERY
49 Avenue Road (@ Yorkville)
Toronto, ON M5R 2G3
Tel. 416-929-2220
www.ingramgallery.com
Hours: Tues – Sat 11 – 5 p.m.
A multi-talented visionary, painting alongside Carl Schaefer, Charles Comfort and Fritz Brandtner — Caven Atkins (1907-2000) was a master of all media. Curated as a significant part of our 2011 exhibition In the Neighbourhood, Caven Atkins had studios on both Howland and Ossington in Toronto. In addition to his Ontario days, Caven Atkins was also part of the artistic communities of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Detroit, Michigan.
“Caven Atkins’ beginnings were shaped by Lionel Lemoine FitzGerald and Fritz Brandtner in Winnipeg, by his industry and determination; later, in the company of friends like Charles Comfort, Carl Schaefer, Paraskava Clark, Peter and Bobs Cogill Haworth, Pegi Nicol MacLeod, and Charles Goldhamer.
Atkins created a body of work which vividly represents his time.
Not satisfied with a set formula for making pictures, he strove to reveal the fundamental structure, the essential rhythms in nature. To accomplish this end, he constantly experimented; Charles Sheeler, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Cézanne, Marsden Hartley, Albert Pinkham Ryder and John Marin were sources of inspiration. But, finally, it was the landscape of Canada itself – the winding Beausejour River, the lakes and woodlands of Flin Flon; the bluffs at Scarborough, the rolling countryside of Baie St. Paul, and Grafton – that fired his mind and shaped his art.” Ted Fraser, 1979