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Joanne TodOutstretched Arm2025
2025
$24,500
£18,510.92
€21,207.91
CA$34,185.45
A$37,260.39
CHF 19,699.24
MX$448,544.39
NOK 250,032.45
SEK 229,228.65
DKK 158,424.11
About the Item
Joanne Tod (b. 1953) is a renowned Canadian artist 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's museum-centred work is driven by her exploration of proprietary and moral rights in relation to antiquities and museum holdings. These paintings address the idea of historical displacement by situating removed objects in their display cases. The museum paradox is critical for Tod as a painter; she contends with the reality that a place born out of theft is now a repository for beautiful things. This notion of simultaneous homage and critique is a recurring theme throughout her oeuvre.
As is typical for her, Tod's mastery in depicting light is evident in this painting. Spots on the amphora's top indicate overhead spotlights which in turn cast multidirectional shadows onto its plinth. Ambient lighting from the next room offers an inviting deep space, despite the supposed focus being the terra cotta figure depicted on the vessel. While the vitrine's glass is clearly depicted, the tessellations do not detract from or overwhelm the composition. Though filled with reflective surfaces that could verge on the distracting or excessive, Tod achieves a quiet balance, offering a scene that is both calm and welcoming.
Marked first by verisimilitude, Tod's paintings reveal layers of meaning in time, offering an intellectual satisfaction or ambiguity and paradox to her audience. The museum paintings balance critique and homage, as she questions systems of display, ownership, and authority while celebrating the beauty of objects and the subtleties of pattern and light.
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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Untitled (Outstretched Arm)
Canada, 2025
Oil on canvas
36"H 27"W
Signed, titled, and dated, verso
Very good condition
- Creator:Joanne Tod (1953, Canadian)
- Creation Year:2025
- Dimensions:Height: 36 in (91.44 cm)Width: 27 in (68.58 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Very good condition.
- Gallery Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 10-251stDibs: LU215217130862
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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