The discovery of works by one of Canada’s most respected fashion artists led to a treasure trail across Europe and beyond for British art dealers Gray MCA. A rough fashion sketch handed to Exhibition curator Connie Gray sparked intrigue when she realised that the faint signature on it was that of forgotten Canadian artist Irwin ‘Bud’ Crosthwait.
Her research took an exciting turn when she learnt that boxes left out for rubbish had been discovered by a Parisian couple living near the studio where Crosthwait had worked as his reputation as a top fashion illustrator took off.
The abandoned boxes contained sketches, photographs and letters, as well as original works from the artist’s time as a war artist with the Canadian Navy between 1944-1947. These were the first of Crosthwait’s original war works of the period that Gray MCA had seen; the only other known surviving war works being in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Within the collection were stunning sketches of his local stamping ground around Montmartre and drawings of the artist’s life in Paris. Having no connection to Crosthwait and no knowledge of who he was, the couple made contact with friends of the artist detailed in the letters and luckily were able to reach the daughter of Crosthwait’s old family friends in Canada.
Gray MCA found further evidence of Crosthwait’s work, across Paris on the banks of the Seine, safely stored for many years with the widow of 60s haute couture fashion designer Marc Vaughan. Crosthwait had attended the prestigious Art School Pratt Institute in New York before designing fashion adverts for the well-known Canadian retail chain known today as ‘Bay’.
His reputation won his appointment as an official War Artist serving with the Canadian Navy. Following ‘honourable release’ from service, Crosthwait settled in Paris and began his career as a fashion illustrator. He was to become a household name among the leading fashion publications of the period and a favourite with the haute couture houses.
Marc Vaughan’s widow, Madam Audart, not only held a collection of original Crosthwait fashion illustrations, but also housed some of the best examples of large-scale original abstract works by the artist.
The paintings had been purchased at Crosthwait’s exhibitions in Paris in the late 1950s and 60s, when Crosthwait’s Modernist works were exhibited worldwide alongside the great Abstract Expressionists, such as Serge Poliakoff, Nicolas de Stael and Robert Jacobsen and his close friend Victor Vasarely. Aside from admiring and collecting Crosthwait’s paintings, Marc Vaughan also commissioned him to illustrate his couture collections and over time they became great friends.
The trail didn’t stop there, a visit to Crosthwait’s original muse Ursula Frey in Switzerland unveiled more surprises. Ursula had been Crosthwait’s friend since childhood and became his trusted muse and model in the 1960s, featuring in almost all of his fashion commissions for magazines such as Harpers Bazaar, Elle, Vogue, New York Times and for designers such as Dior, Pucci, Givenchy and Yves St. Laurent. From under the bed in her Basel home she pulled out two enormous portfolios of fashion illustrations that hadn’t been seen for more than 45 years.
A selection of these stunning works will be among those going into what will be the most extensive selling exhibition of Crosthwait’s works by Gray MCA at Gallery 8, 8, St. Duke’s Street St. James’s, London, SW1, from Thursday 17-Tuesday 22 September, 2015, during London Fashion Week.
EXHIBITION DATES
Thursday, 17 September to Tuesday, 22 September 2015
LOCATION
Gallery 8
8 Duke Street St James’s
London
SW1Y 6BN
PUBLIC OPENING HOURS
17 September – 9.30am – 8.00pm
18th September to 22nd September – 9.30am – 6.30pm
Featured image Copyright Courtesy Gray MCA
afternyneblog.wordpress.com 