Sold for: $25,000

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the Artist
By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario

LITERATURE
Paul Duval, A.J. Casson, Roberts Gallery, 1975, page 128
Wayne Larsen, A.Y. Jackson: The Life of a Landscape Painter, 2009, page 128

During the 1950s, A.J. Casson’s favourite painting place was Lake Baptiste, about 20 miles from the Ontario town of Bancroft. He painted there almost exclusively from 1953 to 1955. Paul Duval notes, “In late September or early October, he would rent a small cottage on the lake with a few artist friends and spend a couple of weeks there. His enthusiasm for the area was such that in some years he would make a second trip, in summer...Some of Casson’s finest canvases were based on sketches done at Lake Baptiste.”

Baptiste Lake - North is executed with a fine awareness in both brush-stroke and compositional framing, prompting an all-consuming stillness in its viewer. The stylized rock formation in the centre acts as a pale colour break in the composition, which is otherwise dominated by a palette of fresh shades of greens, used to portray the lush forest, doubled in the lake’s reflection. Wayne Larsen asserts that fellow Group of Seven artist A.Y. Jackson “was impressed by the way Casson handled various shades of green - the one colour he felt he could never master.” Baptiste Lake - North is a testament to Casson’s mastery of the colour.

This work has been in a private collection from the time it was given to the family by Casson, who was a dear friend of the original owner.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars

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