Tony Scherman lived in Toronto, he died at 73 last Thursday, March 2

One day, in 1997, Daniel Templon asked me if I would host a dinner party after the opening of a Tony Scherman exhibition at his gallery. And he mentioned the frightening detail that the Canadian painter was a very good cook! I managed to prepare a boeuf bourguignon which he enjoyed and served good wine. At the end of dinner, Tony and I were “best friends” for culinary reasons at least. For many years we kept in touch, he travelled often to Paris with his wife Margaret Priest and I went to see all his exhibitions in New York. I visited him in Toronto and he invited me to stay at their home and toured me around town, showing me his studio. He was so generous.

“Gettysburg” by Tony Sherman

One day, in 2007,  I was early for a meeting and stepped into his gallery Winston Wächter which was on the upper East side at the time. The exhibition, “About 1865”, was on the theme of the Civil War and I fell completely in love with “Gettysburg“, a large canvas featuring an impressive American Eagle. Back in Paris, I kept on looking at the photograph of it and ended up buying it.

When it arrived with DHL or FedEx, we had to break the very heavy wooden case and carry it up five flights because it did not fit in the elevator. Now that it is in my flat, it immediately attracts the visitor’s eye. It is riveting. And I often told Tony how impressive it was to everyone, adults and children alike.

Tony chose to pursue image and figuration, working exclusively in the uncommon wax and pigment encaustic technique.  Over the past 30 years, portraiture has become a primary subject matter that are his contemporary meditations encompassing villains and celebrities, bombshells and intellectuals.

One of the first paintings I saw of him at Templon

He died of cancer on Tuesday, February 28, in Toronto and his work is represented by Winston Wächter.