Goodridge Roberts
(Canadian, b. Barbados, 1904–1974)
Seated Nude
c. 1965
Oil on board
Signed lower right: G. Roberts
Board: 48 × 40 in. (121.9 × 101.6 cm)
Description:
Executed circa 1965, Seated Nude is a monumental, late-career masterwork that highlights Goodridge Roberts’ absolute command of color theory, rich painterly texture, and the human form. Spanning a commanding 48 by 40 inches, this stands as one of the largest and most physically substantial studio works on panel produced during the artist's mature period. Set against an intensely gestural, rich backdrop of shifting crimson, violet, and dark ochre tones, the seated model is sculpted directly out of the composition using broad, confident strokes of amber and golden light.
Roberts' approach to the figure was profoundly shaped by European post-impressionism, echoing the bold spatial dynamics and emotional freedom of Henri Matisse. Rather than relying on classical drawing or rigid outlines, he utilized the physical weight of the paint itself to construct form, balancing raw painterly expressionism with a quiet, meditative composition.
Nudes represent one of the three foundational pillars of Roberts' historic career, alongside his celebrated Laurentian landscapes and structural studio still lifes. This work stands as a premier, exhibition-tier example of his lifelong dedication to figure painting, executed in the decades following his historic inclusion in Canada’s inaugural pavilion at the 1952 Venice Biennale.
Major Accolades & Recognition:
Selected to represent Canada at the historic inaugural Canadian Pavilion at the 1952 Venice Biennale alongside Emily Carr, David Milne, and Alfred Pellan
Appointed Officer of the Order of Canada (O.C., 1969)
Full Member, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (R.C.A., elected 1957)
First Artist-in-Residence at Queen's University (1933) and the University of New Brunswick (1959)
Founding member of the Contemporary Arts Society (1939) and the Eastern Group of Painters (1938)
Subject of major retrospectives at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery (1960) and the National Gallery of Canada (1969)
Selected Permanent Collections:
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Art Gallery of Ontario / AGO (Toronto, ON)
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal / MMFA (Montreal, QC)
McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinburg, ON)
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec / MNBAQ (Quebec City, QC)
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal / MACM (Montreal, QC)
Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, BC)
Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Fredericton, NB)
Goodridge Roberts
(Canadian, b. Barbados, 1904–1974)
Seated Nude
c. 1965
Oil on board
Signed lower right: G. Roberts
Board: 48 × 40 in. (121.9 × 101.6 cm)
Description:
Executed circa 1965, Seated Nude is a monumental, late-career masterwork that highlights Goodridge Roberts’ absolute command of color theory, rich painterly texture, and the human form. Spanning a commanding 48 by 40 inches, this stands as one of the largest and most physically substantial studio works on panel produced during the artist's mature period. Set against an intensely gestural, rich backdrop of shifting crimson, violet, and dark ochre tones, the seated model is sculpted directly out of the composition using broad, confident strokes of amber and golden light.
Roberts' approach to the figure was profoundly shaped by European post-impressionism, echoing the bold spatial dynamics and emotional freedom of Henri Matisse. Rather than relying on classical drawing or rigid outlines, he utilized the physical weight of the paint itself to construct form, balancing raw painterly expressionism with a quiet, meditative composition.
Nudes represent one of the three foundational pillars of Roberts' historic career, alongside his celebrated Laurentian landscapes and structural studio still lifes. This work stands as a premier, exhibition-tier example of his lifelong dedication to figure painting, executed in the decades following his historic inclusion in Canada’s inaugural pavilion at the 1952 Venice Biennale.
Major Accolades & Recognition:
Selected to represent Canada at the historic inaugural Canadian Pavilion at the 1952 Venice Biennale alongside Emily Carr, David Milne, and Alfred Pellan
Appointed Officer of the Order of Canada (O.C., 1969)
Full Member, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (R.C.A., elected 1957)
First Artist-in-Residence at Queen's University (1933) and the University of New Brunswick (1959)
Founding member of the Contemporary Arts Society (1939) and the Eastern Group of Painters (1938)
Subject of major retrospectives at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery (1960) and the National Gallery of Canada (1969)
Selected Permanent Collections:
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Art Gallery of Ontario / AGO (Toronto, ON)
Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal / MMFA (Montreal, QC)
McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinburg, ON)
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec / MNBAQ (Quebec City, QC)
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal / MACM (Montreal, QC)
Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, BC)
Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Fredericton, NB)
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