Canadian, b. 1929

James Edward 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, Boston
1992, 1996 Adelson Galleries Inc., New York

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
1956, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Spring Exhibition
1962, Royal Academy, London
1965, Galerie Municipale de Saint Paul de Vence
1967, Fifth Annual Festival of Plastic Arts, Antibes
1983, Fondation Emile Hughes, Vence
1987, Galerie L’Orangerie, Geneva
1988, La Versailiana, Pietrasanta
1990, Adelson Galleries
1995, Art Miami

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax
Banca Commerciale Italiana, formerly The Henraux Collection
Confederation Center, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Ontario
Lord Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Frederiction, New Brunswick
McLaughlin Museum, Oshawa, Ontario
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Musee d’Art contemporain, Montreal
Musee d’Art de St. Laurent, Quebec
Musee de Charlevoix, Pointe-au-Pic, Quebec
Musee de Joliette, Quebec
Musee de Quebec
Musee de Seminaire, Quebec
Museo di Bozzetti, Pietrasanta
University College, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
University of King College Library, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Vence Town Square