Rita Letendre (b.1928) is one of Canada’s leading female abstract painters. 

While Letendre was associated with Les Automatistes in Montreal (which included Borduas, and Riopelle amongst others) she established her reputation with her unique style of painting that combined hard-edge abstraction with color field aesthetics. 

We are particularly interested in her work once she met, and then married, the sculptor  in the mid-1960s. Together they seem to evolve simultaneously, each artist influencing the other. 

Around 1980, her style loosened significantly from her iconic hard-edge chevron works. Letendre began working more frequently on paper, and her aesthetic revisited some of the gestural techniques and formal approaches evocative of her formative years in  Montreal.

However, despite this shift from hard-edge abstraction, Letendre continued to use rich, saturated colors often contrasted with dense black spaces. Such techniques and palettes, as well as revealing titles such as "Brahms and the Twilight" () seem to suggest an acknowledgment of external influences on the artist's work.  

"Brahms and the Twilight" is a striking example of Letendre's works on paper from this era. The artist masterfully fuses shades of cobalt, sienna, and ochre, infusing the composition with a captivating atmospheric quality. 

Nearly every major institution in Canada has examples of her work in their permanent collections including the National Gallery, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

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"Brahms and the Twilight"

Canada, 1982 

Pastel on Arches paper

Signed, dated, and inscribed by the artist

25.25"H 39.75"W (work)

29.5"H 44"H (framed)

Very good condition.

Note: the price is $12,500 CAD