1952 - Tupper Grocery, 1989
Oil on canvas
12 x 16 in
30.5 x 40.6 cm
30.5 x 40.6 cm
This painting is presently on view at our Toronto gallery
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Inscriptions
signed ‘JOHN / LITTLE’ (lower right); titled, inscribed, signed and dated, ‘1952 - TUPPER GROCERY - Fitzroy 7445 / MR. WEINER and MR. NADLER proprietors / also LEE LEE LAUNDRY / next door to 2077 Tupper - our first apt. 4th floor rear - JOHN LITTLE / 89’ (verso, top horizontal stretcher); inscribed by the artist in black ink, ‘NOV 29 1952 at VARSITY STADIUM TORONTO / FRANK CLAIR'S ARGOS beat FRANK FILCHOCK'S ESKIMOS 21-11 / before 27, 391 for the GREY CUP’ (verso, left vertical stretcher); inscribed by the artist in black ink, ‘89-132’ (verso, bottom horizontal stretcher).Provenance
Alan Klinkhoff Gallery, Toronto
Private collection, Toronto
Exhibitions
Montreal, Galerie Alan Klinkhoff, John Little - City Life from 1951, November 4-18, 2017; Toronto, Alan Klinkhoff Gallery, November 23 - December 9, 2017, no.6Literature
Alan Klinkhoff, John Little: City Life from 1951 (Montreal: Alan Klinkhoff Gallery, 2017), 48-49.
Inscribed on the reverse by the artist, "1952 -TUPPER GROCERY".
First and foremost, this is a most handsome composition by the artist. It is a flashback to a time and a place. In the unlikely eventuality that any of these small dwellings or businesses still exist they are dwarfed by soulless high-rises. This is a wonderful autobiographical note where he describes his first apartment shared with his new bride Lorraine, the owners and the neighbours. The apartment was located on Tupper Street not far from the Montreal Forum (Fitzroy 7445, MR. WEINER and MR. NADLER proprietors, also LEE LEE LAUNDRY, next door to 2077 Tupper - our first apt. 4th floor rear -). John Little, being an avid hockey fan, used to sneak into the Forum in those days to watch the Montreal Canadiens practice.
The tribute Little wrote on the reverse is a great bit of sports trivia relating to 1952 when Little originally drew the street of their first apartment after getting married (NOV 291952 at VARSITY STADIUM TORONTO, FRANK CLAIR'S ARGOS beat FRANK FILCHOCKS ESKIMOS 21-11, before 27, 391 for the GREY CUP"). Lorraine did the research to assure accuracy of the details John then penned.
Fitzroy 7445 is in fact the telephone number. Fitzroy suggests F = 3, I = 4. Tel 34 7445. The exchange transitioned in later years to today’s entirely numeric one.
At this time, around 1952, Little's professional career began. Although the art dealer, William Watson had been buying pictures the previous year, it was with his marriage to Lorraine McMahon and with her lifelong assistance and encouragement that John's career developed. His career is defined by their marriage.
First and foremost, this is a most handsome composition by the artist. It is a flashback to a time and a place. In the unlikely eventuality that any of these small dwellings or businesses still exist they are dwarfed by soulless high-rises. This is a wonderful autobiographical note where he describes his first apartment shared with his new bride Lorraine, the owners and the neighbours. The apartment was located on Tupper Street not far from the Montreal Forum (Fitzroy 7445, MR. WEINER and MR. NADLER proprietors, also LEE LEE LAUNDRY, next door to 2077 Tupper - our first apt. 4th floor rear -). John Little, being an avid hockey fan, used to sneak into the Forum in those days to watch the Montreal Canadiens practice.
The tribute Little wrote on the reverse is a great bit of sports trivia relating to 1952 when Little originally drew the street of their first apartment after getting married (NOV 291952 at VARSITY STADIUM TORONTO, FRANK CLAIR'S ARGOS beat FRANK FILCHOCKS ESKIMOS 21-11, before 27, 391 for the GREY CUP"). Lorraine did the research to assure accuracy of the details John then penned.
Fitzroy 7445 is in fact the telephone number. Fitzroy suggests F = 3, I = 4. Tel 34 7445. The exchange transitioned in later years to today’s entirely numeric one.
At this time, around 1952, Little's professional career began. Although the art dealer, William Watson had been buying pictures the previous year, it was with his marriage to Lorraine McMahon and with her lifelong assistance and encouragement that John's career developed. His career is defined by their marriage.
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