Sold for: $31,250

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Ontario

LITERATURE
Roger Burford Mason, A Grand Eye for Glory: A Life of Franz Johnston, 1998, page 37

In fall of 1919, Frank Johnston was in Algoma on one of the famous Group of Seven boxcar trips, with fellow members Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson and J.E.H. MacDonald. Johnston was much appreciated for his optimism and enthusiasm, as well as his humour in the face of the serious philosophizing that went on in the nightly discussions in the boxcar. The serene beauty of this remote place was at its best in autumn, when the colours changed dramatically from day to day, and the artists worked quickly on the spot to capture it. Tempera, not widely used at the time, was an important medium for Johnston - as Roger Burford Mason wrote, “It was the medium Johnston preferred all his life, and the one in which he became widely acknowledged as a master practitioner.” Johnston’s ability to capture elements such as the surging river water with its foaming rapids is impressive, and he captures light everywhere in the forest scene – it glints from rock formations and the whitewater, and glows from the golden trees. In Rushing River in Algoma, Johnston distilled the essence of this legendary painting place.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars