Description |
Canadian CGP, CSPWC, G7, OSA, RCA [1898-1992]
NEAR KING CITY; ca 1936
oil on board
9.5 x 11.25 in. (24.1 x 28.6 cm)
signed recto; titled verso and on the gallery label; inscribed verso with Casson's Toronto address and "1936 Travelling Show"
Provenance: Masters Gallery, Calgary, AB; Former collection of A. J. Casson
"If I have to define my own contribution to the Canadian Art Scene, what was particularly mine were really the rural villages and houses. In a way, it is a record of a disappearing society and a disappearing world. For me it was always an Ontario quest." - A. J. Casson.
Casson, the youngest member of the Group of Seven, was introduced to the original members at the Arts and Letters Club in 1920 by Franklin Carmichael. While he soon became a regular at the Club, and an invited contributor to the Group shows, it was not until 1925 that he was invited to sketch with the Group on a trip to Lake Superior. The following year, Casson accepted the Group's invitation to join them, bringing the membership back to seven, several years after Frank Johnston's departure. In 1926, Casson also joined the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, a prestigious accomplishment for an artist only 28 years old. It is particularly remarkable that the young Casson was able to gain the acceptance and respect of both the old and new worlds of Canadian art society.
While an important member of the Group of Seven, Casson was always somewhat removed from the Group, and preferred to set his work apart from that of other members. He was most aligned with Carmichael, his mentor and friend. The artists shared a similar vision and interests, and additionally, both worked full-time (a practice Casson continued until his retirement). Yet there came a time when Casson even stopped painting with Carmichael, a step he needed to take in order to be able to fully realize his own, distinct artistic style.
Today, Casson's work is easily recognizable and well-loved by Canadian art collectors. Casson's design background is evident in his graceful and streamlined compositions, and in his adept manipulation of pattern, light and colour. These elements come together to create landscapes that seem to move. A notable hallmark of Casson's work is "his interpretation of the subtle variations of summertime green". This painting exemplifies not only Casson's distinct sensibility but the subject matter most dear to his heart. Casson spent much of the 1930s painting the gentler, civilized, southern Ontario landscapes, preserving for posterity "the pastoral pioneering Ontario that has vanished in the face of a noisier urban world."
*Excerpts from: "The McMichael Canadian Art Collection" (1989) and "A.J. Casson" (Art Gallery of Windsor; 1978).
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