LOT 158

ARCA CSPWC G7 OSA
1888 - 1949
Canadian

Gold Country
oil on board
signed and on verso signed, titled and inscribed "#193"
16 x 20 in, 40.6 x 50.8 cm

Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CAD

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
Laing Galleries, Toronto
By descent to the present Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Roger Burford Mason, A Grand Eye for Glory: A Life of Franz Johnston, 1998, page 71


After Frank Johnston left the Group of Seven in 1924, he changed his name from Frank to Franz. Johnston wanted to paint the landscape on his own terms, and his style evolved towards a more traditional realism. He became intrigued with the work of Russian realist landscape painter Ivan Fedorovich Choultsé, who lived and worked in Paris. Choultsé was known for his winter scenes, and Johnston studied his techniques closely, rushing to scrutinize his work when it came in to Blair Laing’s gallery in Toronto. Johnston was greatly drawn to northern Ontario, particularly in winter, and he made regular trips there starting in the 1930s, often to the fishing camp of his friend Jack McCurdy, on Onaman Lake in the country around Lake Nipigon. Johnston’s snow scenes expertly captured this “land of crackling sub-zero [and] shivering spruces,” as described by one critic. He became known for his ability to render elusive lighting effects, and Gold Country, capturing a bright winter day, suffused with glowing mauve, gold and pale blue, is an exquisite example of this mastery.


Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


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