Mabel Irene Lockerby 1887 1976 Original Painting

Mabel Irene Lockerby (1887–1976) occupies a respected place among 20th‑century Canadian painters, particularly those active in Montreal’s vibrant modernist milieu. Collectors admire her intimate still lifes, interiors, and urban scenes, rendered with a confident, often decorative sense of color and a sure grasp of structure. If you’re considering the appraisal, authentication, or acquisition of a Mabel Irene Lockerby original painting, this guide distills what specialists look for: period context, signature and hand, materials, condition, provenance, and market benchmarks.

Who Was Mabel Irene Lockerby?

• Background and context: Lockerby was a Montreal-based artist whose career overlapped with the flowering of Canadian modernism between the wars and into the mid-20th century. She trained and exhibited within the city’s active art institutions, notably the Art Association of Montreal (a central venue for artists of her time). Her generation intersected with the celebrated Beaver Hall circle—a network of Montreal painters exploring modern color, form, and subject—though Lockerby is more often placed among their contemporaries than as a formal member.
• Reputation and subjects: She is best known for poised, well-structured still lifes (flowers, pottery, fruit), modest domestic interiors, and select cityscapes. Her work balances a modernist simplification of forms with an accessible, grounded naturalism.
• Medium and practice: Oil paint was her primary medium. Lockerby’s paintings typically show confident brushwork, a controlled yet luminous palette, and a compositional logic that directs the eye through key color notes and repeated shapes.

For appraisers and collectors, Lockerby’s appeal lies in the blend of modernist sensibility and approachable subject matter—works that sit comfortably in domestic settings while representing an important chapter in Canadian art.

Subjects, Style, and Materials to Expect

• Dominant subjects:

  • Still lifes: Floral arrangements (chrysanthemums, zinnias, roses), fruit in bowls, and tabletop groupings against patterned textiles.
  • Interiors: Sunlit windows, patterned carpets or tablecloths, chairs, and objects placed with a decorator’s eye for balance.
  • Urban/landscape: Select Montreal streets, rooftops, or parks; composition tends toward order and clarity rather than atmospheric haze.

• Stylistic touchpoints:

  • Palette: Harmonious, often with clear warm–cool contrasts; mid-tones are carefully tuned, and highlights are economical but well placed.
  • Brushwork: Deliberate, descriptive strokes; simplified forms without sacrificing volume; edges may be softened to knit the composition.
  • Design: Strong attention to pattern and negative space; verticals and horizontals stabilize the scene; still lifes feel architected.

• Materials and supports:

  • Medium: Oil on canvas, canvas-board, or wood panel.
  • Grounds: Off-white to pale-toned grounds are common. Underpainting may peek through at edges or in shadows.
  • Size: Sketch panels in the 8 x 10 to 12 x 16 inch range are common; exhibition works often run 16 x 20 to 20 x 24 inches, with occasional larger formats.
  • Frames: Many surviving works wear period wood frames, sometimes with gilt or painted liners; a period frame can support authenticity but isn’t decisive on its own.

• Signatures:

  • Placement: Typically lower right; occasionally lower left.
  • Form: “M. Lockerby” or “Mabel Lockerby,” in a confident hand, usually in oil and tonally adjusted to be legible without shouting.
  • Verso: Titles sometimes appear in pencil or ink on the reverse, along with old price tags, exhibition numbers, or framer labels.

Note that not every authentic work is signed; an unsigned panel with strong provenance and the right hand can be entirely correct.

Dating and Identifying an Original Lockerby

Authenticating an original Lockerby painting often blends connoisseurship, material analysis, and documentary evidence.

• Chronological cues:

  • Early works: Tend to be more conservative in palette and tighter in handling.
  • Mature works: Greater assurance in patterning and color economy; still lifes become especially resolved, with fewer but more decisive marks.
  • Late works: Brushwork may loosen; color contrasts can heighten, though compositional discipline persists.

• Materials and construction:

  • Canvas and panels consistent with mid-20th-century North American suppliers. You may find period stretcher bars with simple keys and machine-sawn faces, or factory canvas-board with visible fiber stamping on the verso.
  • Pigments consistent with the era: cadmiums, earths, viridian, ultramarine. Titanium white appears broadly in mid-century works; earlier works may favor zinc or lead-titanium mixes.

• Comparing the hand:

  • Pay attention to how she models volume in petals and fruit: a few confident strokes build form rather than prolonged hatching.
  • The “lock” of the composition: tables and window ledges align and counterbalance; diagonals are purposeful.
  • Brush rhythm: consistent “beats” of paint that repeat across objects, uniting the arrangement.

• Original vs print:

  • Originals show varied paint thickness, with slight ridges catching raking light; colors interlock with visible overlaps.
  • Canvas texture will show through thin passages irregularly.
  • Under UV light, modern print varnishes fluoresce differently than aged oil varnish; printed dot patterns under magnification are a red flag.

• Documentation to seek:

  • Art Association of Montreal Spring Exhibition labels or checklist numbers.
  • Canadian gallery or framer stickers from Montreal-era dealers.
  • Inscriptions or titles in period handwriting on the verso.
  • Estate notations from the 1970s can be informative when present.

When attribution is uncertain, consult a specialist in early–mid 20th-century Canadian painting; comparative analysis against secure Lockerby works is often decisive.

Market Values and What Drives Price

Lockerby’s market is steady, supported by collectors of Canadian modernism and those focused on women artists of the Beaver Hall era and its orbit. Values vary widely based on subject, size, date, condition, and provenance.

• Price ranges (indicative, not guarantees):

  • Small oils on panel or canvas-board (still lifes, interiors): often in the low to mid four figures.
  • Mid-size, exhibition-quality oils with strong subject matter: mid four to low five figures.
  • Exceptional works with exhibition history, top-tier subject, and excellent condition: potentially mid five figures.
  • Works with condition issues, uncertain signatures, or weaker subjects: lower ranges.

• Value drivers:

  • Subject hierarchy: Lively still lifes and composed interiors generally outperform generic landscapes.
  • Size and impact: Larger, resolved works command premiums over small sketches.
  • Period and quality: Mature-period paintings with confident execution tend to lead.
  • Provenance: Named exhibitions, literature mentions, and continuous private ownership enhance desirability.
  • Condition: Original surface with minimal restoration outperforms aggressively cleaned or heavily retouched paintings.
  • Comparables: Recent sales of stylistically and dimensionally similar Lockerby works, or analogous contemporaries, set expectations.

• Market context:

  • Renewed interest in women artists and Canadian modernism has elevated demand.
  • Seasonality matters: Canadian-focused auctions and thematic modernist sales can lift hammer prices for prime examples.

Appraisers should adjust for currency, buyer’s premium, and local market dynamics, and should distinguish between retail replacement value, fair market value, and auction estimates.

Condition and Conservation Concerns

Most Lockerby paintings have weathered the decades well, but typical 20th-century oil painting issues do appear.

• Common observations:

  • Varnish yellowing: Natural resin varnishes can amber, muting blues and whites. Reversible cleaning may restore tonal balance.
  • Minor craquelure: Particularly in thicker light passages; stable age craquelure is acceptable if paint remains secure.
  • Surface grime and nicotine: Often removable by a trained conservator.
  • Edge wear: From frame abrasions; look for minor paint loss along the perimeter.
  • Panel warp or minor corner dings: Typical for canvas-board; assess structural soundness.

• Red flags:

  • Widespread overpaint: UV inspection that reveals large non-original areas materially affects value.
  • Active flaking: Requires immediate stabilization; factor the cost of conservation into valuation.
  • Over-cleaning: Chalky whites, exposed ground, or abraded darks suggest aggressive past treatment.

• Best practices:

  • Avoid DIY cleaning.
  • Maintain stable humidity and temperature; avoid direct sunlight.
  • Keep original frames and labels together with the work, even if you temporarily reframe for conservation.

A brief conservator’s assessment often pays for itself, clarifying both condition and appropriate treatment pathways.

Provenance, Exhibition History, and Documentation

Strong provenance can separate a good Lockerby painting from a great one. For appraisal purposes, documentation may be as valuable as signature certainty.

• Useful documentation:

  • Exhibition labels or catalog mentions from Montreal institutional shows.
  • Sales receipts from period galleries or later reputable dealers.
  • Inclusion in collection inventories, estate paperwork, or artist files.
  • Photographs of the artwork in situ over time.

• Reading the verso:

  • Look for period handwriting identifying title and dimensions; check consistency with front.
  • Note framer or supplier labels; Montreal framers’ tags can be period markers.
  • Retain any annotations made by galleries or appraisers and keep them with the work.

• Catalogues and archives:

  • While a single, comprehensive catalogue raisonné for Lockerby is not widely cited, institutional archives, exhibition records, and period press notices help triangulate authenticity and date. Appraisers often draw on these sources alongside direct visual analysis.

Practical Checklist: Appraising a Lockerby Painting

• Confirm medium and support: Oil on canvas, canvas-board, or panel consistent with mid-20th-century materials.
• Inspect the signature: “M. Lockerby” or “Mabel Lockerby,” usually lower right; check paint integration and age.
• Evaluate the hand: Look for disciplined composition, economical modeling of forms, and harmonious color.
• Assess condition: Note varnish state, craquelure, overpaint, and structural issues; obtain a conservator’s opinion if needed.
• Review the verso: Seek titles, dates, labels, and framer stamps; photograph everything.
• Establish provenance: Gather ownership history, receipts, exhibition records, and any literature mentions.
• Compare comparables: Identify recent auction or retail sales of similar subject, size, and period.
• Set value context: Define the purpose of value (insurance, fair market, charitable) and adjust for condition and provenance.
• Document findings: Keep a clear file with images, measurements, and written observations.

FAQ

Q: How can I tell if my Mabel Irene Lockerby is an original or a print?
A: Under magnification, originals show brush ridges, overlapping paint layers, and irregular canvas weave showing through thin passages. Prints reveal dot patterns or uniform sheen. UV light can also distinguish aged varnish from modern print coatings.

Q: What subjects by Lockerby tend to be most valuable?
A: Well-composed still lifes with floral arrangements and interiors with clear architectural structure typically lead. Larger, exhibition-quality works with provenance outperform studies and generic views.

Q: My painting isn’t signed—could it still be by Lockerby?
A: Yes. Signatures help, but attribution rests on the hand, materials, and documentary support. An unsigned work with strong provenance and a correct stylistic fingerprint can be authentic.

Q: Should I clean the painting before having it appraised?
A: No. Have it appraised as-is. A conservator can later recommend reversible treatments, and pre-treatment appraisals provide a baseline and avoid risk.

Q: What’s a reasonable insurance value for a mid-size Lockerby still life in good condition?
A: Values vary by subject, quality, and provenance, but mid-size oils often fall in the mid four to low five figures for insurance purposes. Engage a qualified appraiser to tailor the figure to your specific work and market.

By focusing on the hallmarks of Lockerby’s hand, anchoring your assessment in materials and provenance, and calibrating value against solid comparables, you can confidently approach the appraisal or acquisition of a Mabel Irene Lockerby original painting.