PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Toronto
Private Collection, Ontario
Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Paul Duval, The Tangled Garden: The Art of J.E.H. MacDonald, 1978, page 143

J.E.H. MacDonald first traveled to the Rocky Mountains in 1924; the region so inspired him that he returned every year thereafter until 1930. The mountains brought him peace and joy, and in September of 1928 he declared, “If it is possible to make reservations in Heaven, I am going to have an upper berth somewhere in the O’Hara ranges of Paradise.” In Larches, Mountain Lake, rather than showing recognizable peaks, MacDonald chose a view farther down on the mountain flanks, emphasizing the impact of their sculptural mass. In counterpoint, a wedge of pale blue sky acts as a window to the firmament, and the lake below presents a liquid contrast to the solidity of the mountains. In the context of the still, bare flanks of the looming mountains and the rocky ledges the trees are rooted to, the larches, glowing with yellow, gold and pale green tones, are quite animated. Trees were prized by the Group of Seven, and in MacDonald’s exquisite oil sketch, their soft, brushy foliage embodies rustling movement, and their very presence in a landscape reduced to its bare elements is an uplifting expression of spirit.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars