Vuoto pieno E, studio grafico

ARNALDO POMODORO (b. 1926)
Vuoto pieno E, studio grafico
gilded and painted chrome plated brass
30³⁄₄ x 22¹⁄₄ in. (77 x 58 cm.)
Executed in 1968. This work is from an edition of two plus one artist proof.

Marlborough Galleria d'Arte, Rome
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 1973

F. Gualdoni, Arnaldo Pomodoro. Catalogo ragionato della scultura, Milan, 2007, p. 554, no. 495 (another example illustrated).

Eph Diamond was the quintessential self-made man. He grew up in a working class immigrant family and his father borrowed $100 against his own life insurance policy so that Eph could enroll at Queen’s University, one of Canada’s most prestigious institutes of higher education. His son repaid this trust, studying electrical engineering and graduating with honors, all the while working to pay his own tuition. He would go on to become one of the most successful North American real estate developers of the 20th century, and as CEO of Cadillac Development Corporation, later the Cadillac Fairview Corporation, Eph shaped the urban landscape of cities all over the continent. This broad and forward looking vision was also reflected in his interest in art, and together with his wife Shirley, the couple collected works by artists who transformed the cultural landscape as he had transformed the urban landscape.

While serving in the Canadian navy during World War II, Eph met Shirley at a lodge in northern Ontario and later, he braved his stubborn sea sickness to take the ferry to visit her in St. Catherines. They fell in love, married, and worked hard to make a living for their young family after the War. Eph mastered the intricacies of the construction industry as he managed various projects for his employer. But working for someone else restricted his entrepreneurial drive, so he co-founded the Cadillac Development Corporation with two friends in 1953. Eph’s own family history shaped how he understood his work. “The developer represents those who don’t have a home but want one. We’re their voice,” he said. Always committed to excellence, Cadillac built high-quality, affordable homes that smoothed the way for immigrants similar to his and Shirley’s own parents who had arrived in Canada in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Indeed, Cadillac was the largest of the residential high-rise developers in Toronto, which collectively produced one of the most significant apartment stocks in North America. In addition, and after the merger of Cadillac and Fairview produced Cadillac Fairview, Eph led a number of significant commercial projects where he embraced a modern aesthetic, and Cadillac Fairview’s commercial buildings have long become gems on the Toronto skyline. He retired as CEO of Cadillac Fairview in 1979 to spend more time with Shirley, his constant companion and confidante, and their four sons and growing group of grandchildren. He continued to advise Cadillac for decades and his bold strategic thinking provided the historical underpinning of Cadillac Fairview’s long-term success, while his unwavering commitment to integrity in business earned him a sterling reputation. Among many awards received during his successful lifetime in business, he was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 1988 and received the Order of Canada in 1994.

In the 1970s, Shirley and Eph began a collection that reflected the dramatic shifts taking place in the postwar art historical canon. From the European avant-garde art of Fernand Léger and Joan Miró, the uniquely British Modernism of Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Henry Moore, to the groundbreaking American abstraction of Kenneth Noland, their collection is a capsule of the tectonic artistic shifts that took place on both sides of the Atlantic over the past fifty years. With their highly attuned sense of style and taste, Eph and Shirley acquired what they loved across genres and media, intuitively choosing many artists who later became highly sought-after. Together, they assembled a collection of modern, cutting-edge works in step with the iconic buildings Cadillac Fairview built.

Eph and Shirley valued their Jewish heritage and exemplified the values of their faith throughout decades of philanthropy. The Diamonds gave generously to community organizations like United Way, Sunnybrook Hospital, and to several arts organizations including the Royal Ontario Museum and the Canadian Opera Company, as well as to Jewish organizations which serve the broader population such as Save A Child’s Heart, Ve’ahavta, and the Baycrest Foundation. They have also given generously to Jewish community organizations such as the Hebrew University and United Jewish Appeal. In 1979, the State of Israel awarded Eph with the Prime Minister’s Medal for Humanitarian Services and he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate at the Hebrew University.

Eph passed away at the age of 87 in 2008 and Shirley recently passed in 2022 at the age of 97. The current collection being offered is from their Canadian penthouse residence atop of one of Toronto’s premier and original condominiums.