Lot #170: Original signed Toller Cranston drawing dated 1984

Signed Toller Cranston drawing 1984

Measures 22 1/2 inches wide by 23 inches long

Toller was born in Hamilton, Ontario and grew up in Cambridge and in Kirkland Lake. He finished high school in Montreal and won one of fifty spots to attend the cole des Beaux-Arts. He left the school early when one of his professors told him there was nothing more they could teach him.Toller knew what he wanted. He moved to Toronto to train with legendary skating coach Ellen Burka and to paint and paint and paint. He had his first solo show well before his twentieth birthday.After years of skatingOlympics, world championships, Ice Capades, theatre and television he left Toronto for San Miguel de Allende, a colonial-era city in Mexicos central highlands. This UNESCO world heritage site is known for its baroque Spanish architecture, thriving arts scene and cultural festivals. Toller bought an estate with a garden paradise on which he lived, worked and created until his fatal heart attack on January 23, 2015 at the age of 65.In addition to creating thousands of oil paintings and exquisite line drawings, Toller experimented with materials beyond canvaspainting on ostrich eggs, wooden religious statues and furniture. He designed enormous elaborate chandeliers in metal and blown glass. He created a series of handwoven carpets. He organized a fashion show of hand-painted leather jackets and trench coats. He released a series of limited edition silk scarves.