Rachel Berman was an American-born Canadian painter known for her figurative works depicting solitary city dwellers, street characters, and working-class figures observed in international urban centres. After years working as an illustrator, she dedicated herself fully to painting following formative periods living and working in Ireland and England. Later settling in Victoria, British Columbia, Berman developed a distinct visual language characterized by literary allusions, psychological introspection, and a weathered, tactile surface treatment achieved on birch plywood panels.
The development of A Motor-Flight Through France is illuminated by Berman's preparatory working study, inscribed: "Ragpicker. Docklands. Victoria. '7 rain 4:00 pm, winter / 1st study for 'Motor-Flight through France' unfinished." While the study documents the artist's initial observation of the figure within a detailed industrial dockland environment—complete with warehouses, factory chimneys, streetlamps, and a distant pedestrian—Berman significantly edited the setting in the final panel. Borrowing the title from Edith Wharton’s 1908 travel memoir A Motor-Flight Through France (as noted in Berman’s working correspondence attached to the drawing), the artist introduced an ironic, poetic counterpoint between Wharton’s early automotive leisure and the modest reality of her subject pushing a weathered pram laden with salvaged burlap.
In the final painting, Berman strips away the dense dockside architecture of the drawing to heighten the psychological weight of the central figure. The ragpicker stands in profile in heavy winter boots, a dark overcoat, and a woolen cap, one hand resting on the handlebar of a vintage perambulator carrying a bundled sack. By replacing the industrial background with an expansive, chalky ground and a dark, scrubby ridge beneath an overcast sky, Berman isolates the figure against the pale field, lending the composition a stark, monumental presence. Through thin glazes, scumbled pigments, and visible scraping across the birch support, she transforms a chance encounter on a Victoria winter afternoon into a poignant reflection on memory, solitude, and resilience.
Ingram Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Winnipeg
Rachel Berman
Rachel Berman was born Susan King in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1946. A self-taught artist, she spent decades working as an illustrator and painter across the United States, Canada, and Ireland. In 1998, at age fifty-two, she uncovered her original birth records and biological parentage, an event that led her to reclaim her birth name of Rachel Berman.
Over the final decades of her career, Berman made Victoria, British Columbia, her primary residence while maintaining a regular creative presence across Canada. Alongside her studio painting practice, she achieved national recognition as a children's book illustrator, receiving nominations for the Governor General's Literary Award for English-Language Children's Literature (Illustration) in both 2009 and 2013. Berman died at her home in Victoria on May 28, 2014, at the age of sixty-eight.
Major Fall Fine Art Auction
November 12 - December 3, 2026
661 Wall St, Winnipeg MB
(204) 255-5690
mayberryfineart.com
[email protected]
Contact us to make an appointment to preview this item or to sell similar works.
|
Bidding Range
|
Increment
|
|---|---|
| $0.00 - $50.00 | $1.00 |
| $50.00 - $100.00 | $5.00 |
| $100.00 - $500.00 | $10.00 |
| $500.00 - $1,000.00 | $25.00 |
| $1,000.00 - $2,500.00 | $50.00 |
| $2,500.00 - $10,000.00 | $100.00 |
| $10,000.00 - $20,000.00 | $200.00 |
| $20,000.00 - $50,000.00 | $500.00 |
| $50,000.00 - $100,000.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $100,000.00 - $300,000.00 | $5,000.00 |
| $300,000.00 - $1,000,000.00 | $10,000.00 |
| $1,000,000.00 - $2,000,000.00 | $25,000.00 |
| $2,000,000.00+ | $50,000.00 |
Login or register a BidLots.com account to participate in any auction. Track specific lots and artists with real-time notifications on all bidding activity.
Bidding approval requires three simple steps:
1. Create a Bid Lots account
2. Confirm your email address
3. Create a valid billing profile
Bid Lots and/or the auctioneer may choose to revoke your bidding privileges if your account is not in good standing or your activity is in conflict with our standard terms and conditions of sale.
The buyer’s premium is an additional percentage charged to the winning bidder. The buyer’s premiums may vary from auction to auction, typically ranging from 10% to 20%. Buyer’s premiums will be displayed on detailed lot listings and paddle registration forms.
Bidding begins at the reserve price and advances at set increments based on the bidding range. The specific bidding increments may vary from auction to auction, however the next bid and subsequent increments will always be clearly defined on detailed lot listings. Maximum Bids and Single Bids can only be placed within the pre-defined bidding increments ensuring that no two bidders can place identical bids on an item. View individual lot detail pages to see a complete range of bidding increments for that item.
Requests to cancel a single bid are at the sole descretion of the auctioneer. Maximum bids can be increased but cannot be decreased unless premitted by the auctioneer. Requests to cancel a bid or to alter a maximum bid will be denied if the specific lot is scheduled to close in less than 24 hours or if the lot has significant interest or activity.
To request that a bid be cancelled or to change a maximum bid use the "Ask a question" button on the detailed lot listing.
You will receive an email notification when you have successfully won an auction. You will also see the item listed on your "Bidding Results" page and if you are logged into the site you will see a highlighted message on the auction catalogue pages and auction listings.
Shipping requirements may vary on different items depending on location and size or weight of an item. When registering for a specific auction you will be provided options to clarify your preferred shipping instructions. The auctioneer will also review and provide specific shipping quotes or options following the close of an auction. If you have specific shipping requirements or are unsure of the shipping constraints on a specific item please contact the auctioneer prior to bidding.
Following the close of an auction the auctioneer will provide a detailed invoice for all items you have won. They may contact you before a final invoice is prepared to confirm or review specific shipping instructions. Payment is due once a final invoice is provided and can be submitted online by credit card, or made by EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer), bank draft or international wire transfer. Any outstanding balance will be automatically charged to your registered credit card 5 days following the close of an auction.