Alex Colville
ALEX COLVILLE "SEVEN CROWS" LITHOGRAPH, 1991
Alex Colville (1920-2013) is one of the titans of Canadian art. Working across mediums, Colville is a revered painter, draughtsman, engraver, and muralist. He is one of the few Canadian artists whose auction record is above $2 million.
Spending his life and career in Nova Scotia, Colville is renowned for his atmospheric depictions, frequently portraying his family, domestic animals, and scenes of life in Atlantic Canada. Despite the degree of familiarity throughout his oeuvre, his work is often characterized by a visceral sense of uneasiness and mystery.
Sometimes, the absence of a clear narrative is as compelling as its presence. In Colville’s work, this sense of something missing creates tension and unease—often heightened by the presence of birds. In Seven Crows, an eerie stillness invites interpretation: do the birds represent warning, death, freedom, or prophecy? Informed by the dark rhyme “One for Sorrow,” whose final lyric is “Seven crows a story never to be told,” this image captures a narrative ambiguity that resonates across Colville's oeuvre.
The painting from which this print was reproduced is held in the collection of Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University, Sackville NB, Colville's alma mater.
Today, Colville's work is enjoyed internationally in collections of major institutions and galleries around the world including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Museum Boymans-van Beuningen (Rotterdam), and the Museum Ludwig (Cologne).
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"Seven Crows"
Canada, 1980 (printed 1991)
Lithograph on rag paper
Signed, titled, and numbered by artist, bottom margin
Produced by Herzig Somerville Ltd. and distributed by The Artists' Garden in 1991
Print number 197, from an edition of 950 with 100 artist proofs
Includes original certificate of authenticity, signed by the artist
13.25"H 26.5"W (work)
17.5"H 30.5"W (sheet)
22.5"H 35.5"W (framed)
Very good condition.
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