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LOT 104

Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Casson
1898 - 1992

The Lake in the Hills, Lake Superior
watercolour on paper, 1929
17 x 20 in 43.2 x 50.8 cm

Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000

Sold for: $91,250

Preview at:

Private Collection, United Kingdom

The watercolours produced by A.J. Casson between 1925 and 1930 show his mastery of the medium. Rightfully seeing watercolour as underappreciated, Casson, along with Franklin Carmichael, sought to bolster its reputation with the founding of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour in 1925. This led to Carmichael’s insistence that his and Casson’s watercolours have a room of their own in the Group of Seven’s 1930 exhibition. Produced during that key period, The Lake in the Hills, Lake Superior eloquently illustrates their beliefs. The subtle gradations of the wash of blue lake leading from the elevated foreground into the gently moody hills provide a palpable sense of height and distance. His rhythmic depiction of the landscape rendered in layers of raw sienna and burnt umber, offset by transparencies of ultramarine receding into the distance, creates a presence of atmosphere as only watercolour can. A deft outlining of form in Casson’s exactingly drawn composition creates an effect that is highly detailed while still remaining impressionistic. Harnessing the full capacity of the medium, Casson has created an expression that is at once majestic and intimate.

Estimate: $40,000 - $60,000

All prices are in Canadian Dollars
