Lot 20
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON, O.S.A., P.R.C.A.
Additional Images
Provenance:
Private Collection, Vancouver
Note:
The Madawaska Valley, south of Algonquin Park, was a region to which A.J. Casson (1898-1992) would often return to paint around Barry’s Bay, the Opeongo River and Yantha Lake. By 1960, the year he painted Autumn Morning, Near Yantha Lake, Casson had retired as Vice-President and Art Director of the commercial art firm Sampson-Matthews and was free to travel further afield on sketching trips. He painted the area around Yantha Lake many times, under varying weather conditions at different times of the year, and using a variety of approaches. Autumn and winter were Casson’s favourite painting seasons. His Yantha Lake images often include the motif of the sugar loaf mountain, which here provides an effective backdrop for the trees displaying the golden hues of autumn. Characteristic of Casson’s later works, Autumn Morning demonstrates less concern with patterning, which still lingers in the stylized trees, while the sky is given a more atmospheric treatment than in earlier versions.