OSA
1877 - 1917
Canadian
The Banks of the River
ink on paper
signed and dated 1908 and on verso signed, titled and inscribed "99 Gerard" and variously
11 x 18 1/4 in, 27.9 x 46.4 cm
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000 CAD
Sold for: $265,250
Preview at:
PROVENANCE
Estate of Judge S.A. Hutchinson, Huntsville
Rev. Oskar Puhm, Toronto
By descent to the present Private Collection
LITERATURE
Joan Murray, The Art of Tom Thomson, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1971, reproduced page 16 as On the Don River
Harold Town and David P. Silcox, Tom Thomson: The Silence and the Storm, 1977, reproduced page 147
Joan Murray, Tom Thomson: Trees, 1999, reproduced page 9 as On the Don River
EXHIBITED
Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, The Art of Tom Thomson, October 30 – December 12, 1971, traveling in 1972 to the Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Confederation Art Gallery and Museum, Charlottetown, catalogue #18
The Banks of the River, a rare ink drawing by Tom Thomson, presents a pastoral scene of sheep grazing along the banks of a river beneath a gently slanted tree. Created in 1908, while Thomson lived in Leith on the eastern shore of Owen Sound, the work demonstrates his careful observation of nature and his growing artistic confidence. At the time, he was employed by Legg Brothers, photo-engravers in Toronto, but returned home on weekends to sketch the landscapes that shaped his developing style. The subject of the slanted tree is also featured in Thomson's Stream Bank and Tree, a small oil sketch sold by Heffel in 2024. A verso label notes that the drawing was a gift to Judge S.A. Hutchinson, a lawyer in Huntsville and a hunting companion of Thomson. A rare and finely executed example of Thomson’s early work, this drawing offers a unique opportunity to own an intimate and historically significant piece of Canadian art.
This work is included in the Tom Thomson catalogue raisonné, researched and written by Joan Murray, catalogue #1908.02.
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
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