This work and lots 309, 310, and 312 in this sale were produced by Lawren Harris in 1908 on his first Canadian sketching trip in Quebec’s Laurentian Mountains after returning from his artistic studies in pre-WW1 Germany. From these intimate, romantic, earth-toned oil sketches, some of Harris's most essential early breakthroughs emerged, including the major canvas Deserted Barn, Laurentians, circa 1912 and the early masterpiece Laurentian Landscape, 1913 (sold by Heffel in May 2016). With these small works, Harris set the stage for the Group of Seven and its transformative impact on modern painting in Canada.

The four early Lawren Harris sketches in this sale were once part of the collection of William Allan Manford (1913-2009). Co-founder, CEO, and chairman of the Canadian-based global asset management firm AGF, Manford was considered one of the important collectors of Canadian art of his time. His collection once included masterpieces such as Emily Carr’s Sunlight in the Forest, J.E.H MacDonald’s After Sunset, Georgian Bay, and Arthur Lismer's Bon Echo Rock.