Lot 5A
Gwendolyn Dufill Meux (Canadian, 1893-1973). Untitled, mixed media, ca. 1930s to 1940s. Signature at lower left. A fascinating mixed media composition by Gwendolyn Meux depicting two groups of figures separated by a vertical red band running down the center of the scene. All of the figures - both humans and animals (note the dog joining the crowd on the left and the horned creature with those on the right) - are rendered in an abstract manner in a restricted palette of red, black, and white. In addition to her modernist aesthetic, this piece suggests that Meux was making a social statement with this piece - revealing conflicts that arose from segregation of marginalized peoples or divisions between classes. A powerful artwork mounted behind glass in a custom frame. Size (sight view): 24.625" L x 17.5" W (62.5 cm x 44.4 cm) Size (frame): 32.25" L x 24.25" W (81.9 cm x 61.6 cm)
About the artist: "Gwendolyn (Gwen) Meux was born the daughter of Arthur and Mabel Mews in Newfoundland, where her father was the Deputy Colonial Secretary. Studying on a government scholarship at Owen's Museum in Sackville, New Brunswick, she taught in the fine arts department there and later at the University of Oklahoma. During this early period of her life, she also studied at the art colonies of Provincetown and Santa Fe.
By the time she married Arthur Gayle Waldrop in 1925, she had begun using the alternative spelling of her last name professionally. He was a journalism professor at the University of Colorado, and Gwen would teach art classes in summer school there. One of the founding members of the Boulder Artist's Guild in 1925, Meux also wrote and illustrated articles for the Christian Science Monitor and Trail and Timberline, the Colorado Mountain Club's monthly magazine. She appears to have had an active involvement with the Front Rangers, as the Boulder chapter of that organization was called.
In 1930, she had a one-woman show in Newfoundland, at which time Professor Albert Bloch indicated that Meux "may be regarded as one of the strongest personalities among women now painting in this country." He described her work as "marked by a vigorous and direct manner; the color is joyous and vibrant" adding that it possessed a "keen sense of humor, and sometimes a biting irony." While her early work was of scenes of Newfoundland, she went on to depict locations that reflected her travels, including Oklahoma, Finland, Mexico, and New Mexico and other Western sites. However, her main subject would become the landscapes of Colorado near Boulder, especially the area around Ward.
From 1931 to 1939, she was a part of a collaboration of five University of Colorado professors, including Muriel Sibell Wolle and Virgina True, regionalist artists who called themselves The Prospectors. The prospectors organized shows and exhibitions across the United States at universities, museums and galleries. Recently, the Denver Public Library exhibited Meux's portrait of Muriel Sibell Wolle, head of the Fine Arts Department at the University of Colorado." (Source: David Cook Galleries)
Provenance: Private Longmont, CO, USA collection
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#187883
- Condition: Signed "G. Meux" at lower left. Artwork is mounted behind glass in a custom double mat and metal frame. One very small stain on inner white mat (right center). A few scuffs to metal frame. Artwork has not been examined outside the glass but appears to be in good condition save minor wear commensurate with age. Fit with suspension wire and ready to display.
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