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Joanne TodFab Five2025
2025
$2,750
£2,089.32
€2,401.07
CA$3,862.71
A$4,204.46
CHF 2,227.80
MX$50,565.05
NOK 28,325.85
SEK 25,957.51
DKK 17,935.84
About the Item
Joanne Tod (b. 1953) is a renowned Canadian painter acclaimed for her unwavering approach to realism, technical precision, and critical wit. She is also one of the country's most celebrated living portrait artists.
During Covid, Tod (re)discovered watercolors. Despite the challenges of this period, Tod had an incredibly fruitful experience as she enthusiastically experimented with the medium. This unforgiving medium has enabled the artist to be more spontaneous and playful, without compromising the technical proficiency she is known for.
For Tod, a portrait is not simply likeness but a study of presence itself: a way of slowing down, holding attention, and examining the subtleties of character. Throughout her oeuvre, portraits of people and portraits of spaces converge, each exploring visibility, performance, and intimacy. Her portraits are notable for their subtle backgrounds, giving priority to the character of the subject.
Like the best of her work, "Fab Five" is depicted in Tod's signature brand of soft realism. The portrait depicts the five members of television's Queer Eye: Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Jeremiah Brent. Tod captures each member with skill, capturing their likenesses with subtlety and grace. She often portrays figures who she admires, and has commended the positivity that the Fab Five bring her and those they help.
Joanne Tod's works can be found in most major public institutions across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), and the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.
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"Fab Five"
Canada, 2025
Watercolor on paper
10"H 14"W (sheet)
Very good condition
- Creator:Joanne Tod (1953, Canadian)
- Creation Year:2025
- Dimensions:Height: 10 in (25.4 cm)Width: 14 in (35.56 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Very good condition.
- Gallery Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 11-251stDibs: LU215217233482
Joanne Tod
Joanne Tod (b. 1953) is a renowned Canadian artist celebrated for her accomplishments in figurative painting. Rendering at considerable scale and with exceptional detail, Tod draws viewers into the psychic and physical spaces she depicts. Along with her portrait and interior paintings, her investigations of precious and decorative objects in both public and private spaces examine dynamics of identity, power, and cultural values. Tod’s works can be found in several notable public institutions, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal.
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Located in Toronto, Ontario
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2010s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors
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Tod has depicted a wide-range of subjects throughout her illustrious career. The human figure, pattern and interiors have been reoccurring and essential elements of Tod's oeuvre.
However over the last ten years, portraiture has become an increasingly significant part of her output, both high-profile commissions as well as more idiosyncratic self-initiated portraits, such as her recent installation of "head-shots" paintings of the entire Toronto Raptors...
Category
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Located in Toronto, Ontario
Joanne Tod (b. 1953) is a renowned Canadian painter acclaimed for her unwavering approach to realism, technical precision, and critical wit. She is also one of the country's most celebrated living portrait artists.
Tod has frequently depicted institutional buildings such as banks, museums, and post offices to explore the architecture of authority and trust. These essential urban institutions shape our lives whether we acknowledge them or not. In her paintings, decorative elements such as columns and classical façades convey importance and permanence, while demanding our respect or even dependence. Tod highlights the aesthetic characteristics of these edifices, showing how power can be conveyed through beauty and awe.
This painting is a portrait of the New York Life Insurance building, located at Place d'Armes in Old Montreal. The city was once known as a powerhouse of commerce, particularly in the 19th century, with most of the corporate headquarters based in this area. At the time of completion, circa 1899, this building was the tallest structure in the city and one of the most prestigious office buildings. Today this structure remains impressive, standing out with its striking red sandstone exterior, elegant clock tower and lavish interior.
Tod is originally from Montreal, so her Place d'Armes paintings have a special resonance for her. See another painting from the series here.
Tod captures the decorative features of the historic building in "New York Life." Painting in her signature realist style, she treats each surface with care, applying thin layers of paint to amplify the brighter hues. The veined marble...
Category
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Materials
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