Jan Weenix

George Encil (1906–1995), by 1989;

Thence by inheritance to the present owner.

E. Reznicek, Experience and Adventures of a Collector, G. Encil (ed.), Paris 1989, pp. 130–31, reproduced in colour (as Jan Baptist Weenix);

A.A. Van Wagenberg–Ter Hoeven, Jan Weenix: The Paintings, Amersfoort 2018, pp. 90–91, no. 12, reproduced in colour (as Jan Weenix).

Note on Provenance

George Encil (b. George Eisenschiml in 1906) was a skier, ski-resort owner and developer in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Encil was born in Czechoslovakia and emigrated to Canada in 1937. He settled in Banff after the Second World War, becoming passionate about mountain photography and cinematography. He went on to build the Mount Norquay Ski Lift in 1948 and in 1952 his company purchased the Sunshine Ski Lodge. Encil’s love of nature and the mountains was mirrored by his love of art. Majorelle’s spectacular views of the High Atlas, for instance, very much appealed to this passion. Nevertheless, his tastes were eclectic, ranging from Old Masters to early twentieth-century paintings, books, sculpture and even Japanese art; however, what unified each and every ‘orphan’ (as he described the objects and pictures that entered his collection) was the duty of care he invested in them to bring out the best in them and make them shine: from restoration to framing and presentation; a way of thinking perhaps fostered by his own gratitude towards his adoptive country and the opportunities it gave him. In 1989 Encil published a book about his collection, Experience and Adventures of a Collector, a celebration of the collection, with personal anecdotes as well as insights into the disciplines of framing and restoration.