price range: $3900-$60,000
1923 - 1999
Jean McEwen
, RCA
Jean McEwen was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1923. He completed a degree in Pharmacy at the University of Montreal in 1948, but soon realized he was more of an artist and a poet than a chemist. Later his painted work would be exhibited alongside that of the soon-to-be-famous Automatist painters of Montreal, with Paul-Émile Borduas as their leader.
Starting in 1951, numerous solo exhibitions were held in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto and New York (Martha Jackson Gallery). A first retrospective show was presented in 1973 at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, McEwen 1953-1973; a second retrospective show was organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine arts in 1987, entitled Jean McEwen: Colour in Depth.
Jean McEwen is considered one of Canada’s most influential abstract painters. He received many awards during his career, including the Concours Artistique for the Province of Quebec (1961) and an honorable mention during the Sondage 68 show at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (1968). In 1977 he received the Victor Lynch-Staunton Scholarship from the Canada Council, which honours outstanding artistic achievement by Canadian mid-career artists. He was also awarded the prestigious Paul-Émile Borduas Award by the Province of Quebec in 1998.
Jean McEwen died in Montreal on January 9, 1999.
Available Works
Chute dans le Blanc (Descent into white) (#179)
Cantate des colonnes #2 (column candidate #2) (#231)
Sans Titre (Untitled), #544, 1959
Untitled 4/6, #564, 1963
Untitled 1/6, #563, 1963
Sans Titre, Drapeau Inconnu (Untitled, Unknown Flag), #511, 1964
Sans Titre, Drapeau Inconnu (Untitled, Unknown Flag), #512, 1964
Sans Titre (untitled), #487, 1964
Sans Titre (#171), 1981
Sans Titre (untitled), #720, 1980
Sans Titre (untitled), #500, 1989
Sans Titre (Untitled), #514, 1993 SOLD
Sans Titre (Untitled), #761, 1996
Catalogs
Jean McEwen Exhibition e-catalog 2023
Jean McEwen
March 18 – April 12, 2023
Opening Reception: March 18: 2-5PM
For the first time ever in Calgary, we will be hosting the exclusive exhibition of select works by Jean McEwen. Celebrating the centennial of his birth, Jean McEwen is a renowned Canadian (Quebec) artist whom created works that were ground-breaking in the art scene during the action expression movement of the 50’s-60’s and beyond.
His works were always created with a deeply thought-out idea in mind. They demand an emotional response from whomever come upon them. He is known for his innovation and contribution to art. His works are exhibited in the MoMA, The National Gallery of Canada, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Art, to name a few. McEwen always insisted that his works were focused and based by the sensation that one gets from art, not based on criteria or theories of art. This exhibition holds true to this sentiment, and is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime exhibition to hit Calgary which shouldn’t be missed.