Douglas Haynes, RCA
(Canadian, 1936–2016)
Cubist Series (from Cubism Revisited period), c. 1983–1986
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 77.5 × 100 in. (196.8 × 254 cm)
Executed during the artist's mid-1980s exploration of modernist formal structure, this monumental canvas measures over eight feet in width. It stands as a central work from Douglas Haynes' celebrated Cubist Series, a body of work highlighted in his milestone 1984 Edmonton Art Gallery exhibition Cubism Revisited.
Engaging directly with early 20th-century Analytic Cubism, Haynes breaks the pictorial plane into a complex matrix of overlapping, faceted geometric forms. Rendered in a grounded palette of charcoal, earth brown, ochre, and slate, the composition builds spatial tension through dense impasto, incised lines, and light-and-dark value shifts. At 77.5 × 100 inches, the monumental scale transforms a historically intimate style into an expansive, modern architectural statement.
The 1984 Cubism Revisited Landmark: This mid-1980s period represents one of Haynes' most academically respected eras, demonstrating his mastery over post-painterly formal abstraction.
Western Canadian Modernism: As a longtime professor at the University of Alberta and an RCA inductee in 1974, Haynes was a dominant force in West Coast and Prairie abstract painting.
Bridge to the Toledo Series: The planar structure developed in this Cubist period provided the foundational architecture for his subsequent Spanish-inspired Toledo works in the late 1980s and 1990s.
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Art Gallery of Alberta (Edmonton, AB)
Glenbow Museum (Calgary, AB)
Confederation Centre Art Gallery (Charlottetown, PEI)
Douglas Haynes, RCA
(Canadian, 1936–2016)
Cubist Series (from Cubism Revisited period), c. 1983–1986
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 77.5 × 100 in. (196.8 × 254 cm)
Executed during the artist's mid-1980s exploration of modernist formal structure, this monumental canvas measures over eight feet in width. It stands as a central work from Douglas Haynes' celebrated Cubist Series, a body of work highlighted in his milestone 1984 Edmonton Art Gallery exhibition Cubism Revisited.
Engaging directly with early 20th-century Analytic Cubism, Haynes breaks the pictorial plane into a complex matrix of overlapping, faceted geometric forms. Rendered in a grounded palette of charcoal, earth brown, ochre, and slate, the composition builds spatial tension through dense impasto, incised lines, and light-and-dark value shifts. At 77.5 × 100 inches, the monumental scale transforms a historically intimate style into an expansive, modern architectural statement.
The 1984 Cubism Revisited Landmark: This mid-1980s period represents one of Haynes' most academically respected eras, demonstrating his mastery over post-painterly formal abstraction.
Western Canadian Modernism: As a longtime professor at the University of Alberta and an RCA inductee in 1974, Haynes was a dominant force in West Coast and Prairie abstract painting.
Bridge to the Toledo Series: The planar structure developed in this Cubist period provided the foundational architecture for his subsequent Spanish-inspired Toledo works in the late 1980s and 1990s.
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Art Gallery of Alberta (Edmonton, AB)
Glenbow Museum (Calgary, AB)
Confederation Centre Art Gallery (Charlottetown, PEI)
