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187 of 269 lots
A Host of Birds in a Tree by Joe Sleep
A Host of Birds in a Tree by Joe Sleep - 1A Host of Birds in a Tree by Joe Sleep - 2A Host of Birds in a Tree by Joe Sleep - 3A Host of Birds in a Tree by Joe Sleep - 4A Host of Birds in a Tree by Joe Sleep - 5
187
A Host of Birds in a Tree by Joe Sleep
Estimate:
CA$4,000 - CA$6,000
Sold
CA$3,000
Live Auction
Folk Art
ARTIST
Joseph Sleep (1914-1978) grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick. He spent his life working in the fishing industry and as a jack-of-all-trades before becoming a worker for the 'Bill Lynch Shows' travelling carnival. It was not until 1973, when Sleep was hospitalized at the Halifax Infirmary, that he discovered his passion for drawing. The nurses requested he draw posters for them, and provided him with paper and art supplies - a gesture which started him on his late-life career as a painter. He later opened a small art studio on Argyle Street in Halifax. His folk art pieces incorporated many materials including latex, cardboard, canvas, masonite, felt markers and even spray paint. Work by Joe Sleep is included in the collections of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University Art Gallery, National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of History.
Size
Sight: 23.5" x 18.5". Frame: 25.25" x 20.25" x 1 .25".
Category
Paintings & Drawings
Description
Nova Scotia. 1977. An extraordinary, top-drawer watercolour composition of birds in a tree by one of Nova Scotia's master painters, Joseph Sleep. Here, the host is painted in bright yellow, lime, and red perched on red and green berry branches. Joe painted a border of flowers in yellow, red, and green. Joe started painting birds on his windows around 1973. People would be fascinated by the brightly coloured hand-painted birds, flowers, and pinkish-red hearts that adorned the windows of the big greenhouse where he rented a room. He translated this work into his paintings, producing some of the most endearing, joyful art on the market. Work by Joe Sleep is included in the collections of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Dalhousie University Art Gallery, National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of History. Signed and dated, “Joseph Sleep 1977", on front.
Medium
Watercolour and pencil on paper.
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