Jim Ritchie Figurative Sculptures

Bronze on polished stone base, signed and edition numbered. The sculpture stands 12" tall including the base. Edition 4/9 Medium: bronze Canadian, b. 1929 James Edward Ritchie (Jim Ritchie) born in Montreal, Canada, he is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculptures. He is stylistically linked with Cubism, Abstract figurative work, and modernism, and the human figure is the subject of much of his work. Ritchie had several exhibitions in Montreal before moving to the small town of Vence in Provence, where he lived and worked for over thirty years. The Adelson Galleries in New York began representing him in 1980, where he had 2 solo exhibitions. Over the next twenty years, Warren Adelson arranged exhibitions of his work in Boston, Los Angeles, and the Miami Art Fair. He has had a sixty-year career in sculpting, and now shows his work locally and has a permanent collection of his sculptures at the Mas d L’Ormée in Vence. ARTIST NOTE: “When I first started casting my bronzes in Pietrasanta, I did editions of 6 with 2 artist’s proofs. I began at Fonderia Tomazzi, where I did only a few pieces. The same is true for Fonderia Tesconi. After moving to Fonderia Mariani and Ballfiore in 1972, my editions remained at 6 until approximately 1980 when I started to cast editions of 8 with 4 artist’s proofs, the intentionally recognized legal limit, after which the mould is destroyed. In the year 2000, I moved to Fonderia d’Arte del Chiaro and have stayed with them. All my bronzes have remained editions of 8 with 4 artist’s proofs. Since I stopped direct carving in marble in the 1980’s, I have worked with wax, making maquettes, which vary in size, but are about 30 centimeters in height. These are cast in bronze but are also used when I do them in larger sizes, in marble and other stones. As a general rule, I do an intermediate carving in stone that is three times the size of the original maquette, before doing a large carving, as the margin of error from 30 centimeters to 2 or 3 meters is too great. From these enlargements in stone, I make moulds which are used in the casting of bronzes the same size. The stone carvings are all unique pieces that I’ve signed and dated. The bronze castings are all done in numbered editions of 8 with 4 artit’s proofs. Normally, for a new edition, I cast only two or three of the edition. When these are sold, I cast two more, etc. Many of my bronze editions have not been cast in their entirety for obvious reasons, as I move on to new pieces. Therefore, they are not dated. I decided to omit all dimensions, since often, when a maquette is shown in a photo, it’s the same as the enlargement. The bronzes are all signed and numbered by me. I have never done an edition that exceeds the legal 8 with artist’s proofs. My marble carvings are all done at Studio Angeli, in Pietrasanta. I continue to work with Giorgio Angeli for my marble enlargements and have done so since 1972. SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 1957, Galerie Libre, Montreal 1962, Grafton Gallery, London 1962, Broadway Gallery, Worcestershire 1963, Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal 1964, Madden Gallery, London 1965, Galerie Minotaure, Vence 1966, Galerie Martal, Montreal 1966, Alwin Gallery, London 1968, Pollock Gallery, Toronto 1968-1970, Moos Gallery, Montreal 1972, Waddington Gallery, Montreal 1975,Galerie Bernard Desroches, Montreal 1987, Galerie L’Art Francais, Montreal 1988, Galerie Alphonse Chave, Vence 1988, Coe-Kerr Gallery, New York 1989, Feingarten Galleries, Los Angeles 1992, Pucker Gallery...

Bronze on polished stone base, signed and edition numbered. The base was most likely produced by the sculptor to allow the piece to smoothly rotate. The sculpture stands 80.5" tall i...

Medium: Bronze with green patina mounted on a marble base. James Edward Ritchie (Canadian, 1929-2017) born in Montreal, Canada, he is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculpt...

Medium: White bronze mounted on a marble base. Edition: 3/8 (last lifetime cast; the rest of the edition will be posthumous) La Vençoise (“The Woman of Vence”) was the artist’s fav...

Medium: Patinated bronze mounted on a marble base. James Edward Ritchie (Canadian, 1929-2017) born in Montreal, Canada, he is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculptures. He...

Amorphic sinuous bronze abstract figural sculpture. Bronze itself is 6 inches in height. Perfect desktop height. Hand signed and numbered 4/8. this one has a Kenny Scharf sort of Pop Art feel to it and is all rounded surfaces. James Edward Ritchie, Jim Ritchie was born in Montreal, Canada in 1929. Ritchie is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculptures. He is stylistically linked with Cubism, Abstract figurative work, and modernism, and the human figure is the subject of much of his work. The Franco-Canadian born in Montreal moved to Vence in southern France in 1967, to the "Cité des Arts". He lived there together with Rita and Witold Gombrowicz in the "Villa Alexandrine", overlooking the main square of Vence, the "Place du Grand Jardin". His studio was in the tower of the villa and in the garden behind the house. In 1997, he took over a dilapidated farmhouse, the Mas de L'Ormée in the mountains above Vence, overlooking the Matisse chapel . For more than 40 years he worked in the Tuscan city of Pietrasanta , where many of his bronze and marble sculptures were made. The most important works from the various periods of his 60-year creative period are now shown directly in the Mas de L'Ormée. Large marble and bronze works can be seen in the garden of Le Mas. In the middle of the old town of Vence stands Jim Ritchie's monumental bronze sculpture "La Vençoise". It is a Cubist figure of women, which is intended in its allegorical embodiment as a tribute to the city of Vence. Exhibitions James Ritchie...

Medium: Rose marble Signed at base: Ritchie 95 Jim Ritchie (1929-2017) born in Montreal, Canada, is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculptures. He is stylistically linked with Cubism, Abstract figurative work, and modernism, and the human figure is the subject of much of his work. Ritchie had several exhibitions in Montreal before moving to the small town of Vence in Provence, where he lived and worked for over thirty years. The Adelson Galleries...

Edition 1/8 Medium: Blue Patinated bronze on a marble base James Edward Ritchie (Canadian, 1929-2017) born in Montreal, Canada, he is known for ...

Edition 2/8 Medium: Natural bronze James Edward Ritchie (Canadian, 1929-2017) born in Montreal, Canada, he is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculptures. He is stylisticall...

Edition 1/8 Medium: Natural bronze James Edward Ritchie (Canadian, b. 1929) born in Montreal, Canada, he is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculptures. He is stylistical...

Edition 1/8 Medium: Natural bronze James Edward Ritchie (Canadian, 1929-2017) born in Montreal, Canada, he is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculptures. He is stylisticall...

Edition 2/8 Medium: Natural bronze James Edward Ritchie (Canadian, b. 1929) born in Montreal, Canada, he is known for his pastel drawings and bronze sculptures. He is stylistical...