PROVENANCE
Important Canadian Art and Fine Jewellery, Sotheby's Canada, June 3, 1986, lot 209
Private Collection, Toronto

While located on the shores of Georgian Bay, McGregor Bay is found at its northernmost point, far closer to the hills of La Cloche than to the comparatively southern Go Home Bay. By 1933, Arthur Lismer had been returning to paint this rugged locale for a full decade, drawn to the area’s remote, windswept character throughout his time as a member of the Group of Seven. Here, in his loose yet structured style, Lismer captures a peaceful day of full summer sunlight. Verdant flora defiantly flourishes on the region’s rocky shorelines, and tranquil blue waters roll in from the bay, creating a sense of serene summer idyll. The compositional choices at play combine two contrasting elements that are each in their own ways classically Lismer. Although dominated by his favoured close-cropped tangle of vegetation, McGregor Bay is elegantly counterbalanced by Lismer’s expressive sense of vista extending into the distance, resulting in a calm, joyous landscape produced at the close of the Group of Seven period.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars