PROVENANCE
Paul Duval, Toronto
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Paul Duval, A.J. Casson, 1980, reproduced, unpaginated

It could be said that amongst the artists who make up the Group of Seven, the work of A.J. Casson carries within it the kindest, gentlest, most humane tone. Within that gentleness, an argument could also be made that his work is amongst the Group’s most stylistically inventive. While fellow Group member Lawren Harris moved through various approaches over his career, honing his sense of simplicity and ultimately producing works of pure abstraction, Casson, in his own way, was equally as exploratory.

From a firm foundation of carefully learned lessons in colour and composition via his long career as a commercial artist, Casson produced works of understated daring and subtle, yet pronounced, sophistication. Those traits are on undeniable display in Midwinter Day. The viewer is immediately struck by Casson’s exacting colour choices. The earthier tones of his palette are complemented by shifting soft blues and greens, which, along with the ultimately harmonizing off-whites, exist within a disciplined modulation. These rigorous choices are wonderfully contrasted by charming details, such as the sole figure on the left, snow accumulating on his clothing as he trudges through the storm.

Aside from earlier oil sketches, Casson never utilized thick impasto applications and instead explored more nuanced variations of texture and gesture. He engages in that pursuit here, with the character of the painted surface changing delicately from zone to geometric zone, contributing intriguing effects of light and atmosphere. The flurries of snow are palpable throughout the scene, with a very true sense of dimensionality that sits in striking contrast to the angular planes of space and flattened forms of the structures. These buildings are a hallmark of Casson’s work and a theme he returned to throughout his career. Just as fellow Group member Frederick Varley was compelled by the humanity he explored through his portraiture, Casson repeatedly sought to express the character of Ontario through its architecture. With remarkable warmth and authenticity, Casson successfully captures that character here via a rural community deep within the bluster of a midwinter storm.

This fascinating dichotomy between authenticity and artifice is especially present in his work from the mid-1940s through the early 1960s. Interestingly, these works were not only successful artistically but commercially as well. His solo exhibitions at Toronto’s Roberts Gallery have become legend, with clients lining up along Yonge Street before the openings, then storming the gallery en masse, sometimes going as far as removing works from the walls to ensure they would not be purchased by a competing collector. The boisterous commotion of these events was covered by CBC Radio, with the bemused though always humble Casson astonished by the attention while still concerned for the safety of the paintings.

This work does not appear to have been subject to this fanfare, however. While it was produced within the period of Casson’s exclusive representation by Roberts Gallery, it bears no evidence of having been in their inventory. Instead, the canvas was formerly owned by noted Canadian author and critic Paul Duval, who very possibly acquired the work directly from the artist himself. Born in 1922, Duval was omnipresent in the Canadian art scene for many years, providing reviews for the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Telegram and the widely circulated Saturday Night magazine. He produced more than 20 books on Canadian art, writing about Casson multiple times, including in the 1980 publication in which this work is reproduced. In this book the work is dated as 1957, and since no date appears on the work itself, the confidence and specificity of that attributed date suggests Duval may have discussed the work in some detail with the artist. Regardless of its esteemed provenance, Midwinter Day stands as a pristine example from one of Canada’s most beloved artists in the midst of his most inventive period.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars