Please note our offices will be closed from Friday March 29 through Monday April 1 for Easter. Local pick-ups will start on Tuesday April 2.
      
      

LOT 166

ALC BCSFA CGP FCA G7 OSA RPS TPG
1885 - 1970
Canadian

Mountain Sketch
oil on board, circa 1924
signed and on verso signed, titled and stamped Dominion Gallery
10 1/2 x 13 7/8 in, 26.7 x 35.2 cm

Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000 CAD

Sold for: $128,700

Preview at: Heffel Vancouver

PROVENANCE
Dominion Gallery, Montreal, inventory #G1816, acquired April 6, 1955 for $300
Estate of Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Montreal

LITERATURE
Theodosia Dawes Bond Thornton, Personal Art Collection Catalogue, reproduced, unpaginated, catalogue #R36
Lisa Christensen, A Hiker’s Guide to the Rocky Mountain Art of Lawren Harris, 2000, a 1924 painting of the same scene by A.Y. Jackson entitled The Ramparts reproduced page 59


In 1924, Lawren Harris and A.Y. Jackson sketched in Jasper National Park’s Tonquin Valley. They had grand hopes that the Canadian National Railway Company would commission a work for a hotel or train station. It was the heyday of railway building in the Rockies, and the competition between companies was fierce. Jackson and Harris sketched a full panorama from Tonquin Hill, including this vista of The Ramparts, the defining mountain feature in the valley. Jackson painted a similar view, now in a private collection, and one can imagine the two working side by side, framing the same scene on their panels. Harris’s depiction of The Ramparts is serene and simple: meadows run in soft bands broken by undulating ridges, the alpine creek is accented with white, echoing the colour of the clouds. Harris’s palette, restricted to a handful of colours, is blended smoothly and directly on the panel, a technique he had mastered. The sheer rock face of The Ramparts is subtly balanced between blue and brown and a blend of the two. Sadly, the CNR commission was never realized.


Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.