Antiques, Decorative and Fine Arts Auction
Lot 72:
Edgar Contant (Canadian, 1882-1944), Portrait of a Gentleman, Montreal 1933, oil on canvas
Description
Edgar Contant (Canadian, 1882-1944) Portrait of a Gentleman (Purportedly the First Sheriff of Montreal), 1933 Oil on canvas Signed and dated lower right: E. Contant 1933. Measures 61 × 46 cm (24 × 18 in.), Framed to 34 x 28 inches.
A distinguished portrait by Quebec painter Edgar Contant, executed in 1933 and said by family descent to depict the first Sheriff of Montreal. The sitter is portrayed with Contant’s characteristic academic precision and sober palette, set against a dark ground that heightens his civic dignity and presence.
A graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Contant was active in the early 20th century and is noted for portraits of Quebec’s civic leaders, clergy, and professionals. This work stands as both a representative example of his portrait practice and a valuable document of Montreal’s early legal and civic milieu.
Condition: Canvas and paint layer in good condition with minor surface craquelure; frame with expected wear from age.
Provenance: Commissioned portrait, reportedly of the first Sheriff of Montreal; thence by descent within a Montreal private collection.
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