Sold for: $28,125

PROVENANCE
Roberts Gallery, Toronto
Masters Gallery, Calgary
By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia

The works produced by A.J. Casson in the years following the formal dissolution of the Group of Seven in 1933 often feature key changes to his approach, and In Haliburton Village is a prime example. As shown here, his brushwork and gesture become more economical, with less impasto, and his relationship with form begins to shift notably as well. Shapes take on a more essential aspect, becoming increasingly flattened and geometric. His palette too, though light-hearted and joyous, is quite tightly controlled within a very specific range of colours. Remarkably, the overall effect of these formal experiments serves to simplify the image while heightening the experience of it. These aesthetic variations are in part due to the influence of Casson’s long and successful career as a commercial artist, working with Sampson-Matthews Ltd. for decades. Many twentieth-century Canadian artists worked as commercial artists to supplement the often minimal income from their painting. In Casson’s work, a semi-abstracted style informed by commercial design became increasingly central to his aesthetic, creating one of the most beloved and distinctive styles of the era.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars