Eesti kunsti oksjonid

Ink on paper. 1952.
Signature: Eric Pehap 1952

Erich Pehap (1912-1981), a Pallasian from Viljandi, left Estonia in 1943, not by sea but by jumping off the train that was taking him to a prison camp and traveling on foot through Russia to Europe, where his wife and child were waiting for him. Together they then settled in Toronto, Canada where Pehap became one of the most renowned and respected artists in the country.

“At the gallery” is a stylish insight into the art scene of 1952. Pehap’s attention is drawn to the chicly dressed audience, each discussing art in their own way – either alone or in pairs. On the other hand, Pehap presents modernist semi-abstract works of art, both sculptures and the large-scale paintings behind them. Third, a geometric stylization permeates the entire image of the gallery space, making it playfully multidimensional. The same scene inspired him to depict the same image in oil when he completed the oil painting of the same name in 1955.

Text: Katre Palm, Harry Liivrand