Sold for: $40,250

PROVENANCE
Roberts Gallery, Toronto
Acquired from the above by the present Private Estate, USA

Espanola is a Northern Ontario town located north-east of La Cloche Provincial Park. A.J. Casson would have been familiar with the dramatic beauty of this region through his friend and fellow Group of Seven member Franklin Carmichael. Carmichael was so inspired by La Cloche that he built a cabin on the shores of Cranberry Lake, and the area became his principle subject for much of his career. Carmichael could also be said to be a mentor to Casson, beginning with the earliest days of their friendship when Casson apprenticed under Carmichael at the commercial art firm Grip Ltd. From Carmichael, Casson learned to hold himself to a very high standard, which is evident in the quality of this oil sketch. It is, in many ways, classic Casson. It features his skillfully nuanced use of a green palette, and the bold, stylized forms that he explored following his retirement from commercial art in the mid-1950s. Although famous for his membership in the Group of Seven, an argument can be made that Casson’s voice speaks most clearly in this important mid-career period.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars

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