The Great Farewell by Kenneth Danby
Ken Danby
The Great Farewell
giclee
signed by artist lower right, signed by subject lower left, dated 2001 and numbered 6/99
31.75 x 26.25 ins ( 80.6 x 66.7 cms )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $400.00
Price Realized $240.00
Sale date: February 19th 2015
Gallery Moos Limited, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
Ken Danby had known Wayne Gretzky for many years before this artwork was commissioned, making it a vert personal project for each of them. After Danby painted “The Crease” in 1978 he was heralded for making art accessible and for being loyal to his roots rather than following art fads. His passion for hockey, a realistic painting style, and his friends reveal an authenticity in “The Great Farewell.” In 2001, Danby said: “Hockey's in my blood. I was one of the first people to respond to hockey in an artistic manner, so I've been identified with the sport ever since.” The painting was unveiled with Wayne Gretzky present, in 2001, and marks an important moment in professional hockey.
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Kenneth Danby
(1940 - 2007) RCA
Kenneth (Ken) Danby was born on March 6, 1940 in Sault Ste. Marie, and was destined for a career as an artist. As a 12 year old, he was already talking to career advisors about how to enrol in the Ontario College of Art (Now OCADU). In 1958, he realized this dream by enrolling at the school, but became disenfranchised with institutional education and quit two years later. After briefly experimenting in abstract art, he returning to his roots in representational art, and specifically, realism, after being inspired on a trip to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.
In 1964 Gallery Moos organized “Danby's first one-man show, which promptly sold out and set an example that was repeated and surpassed over many years”*. Today, Danby is recognized internationally and is one of Canada's best known artists. His work can be found in private, corporate and public institutions worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Danby received many awards and accolades, including his election to membership of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1976. He was also awarded with the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal by the Government of Canada, and The Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada. Danby served on many boards, including that of the National Gallery of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.
* kendanby.ca
