Canadian Fine Art Auction

November 24, 2014

LOT 57

Lot 57

LAWREN STEWART HARRIS

LAWREN STEWART HARRIS
Lot 57 Details
LAWREN STEWART HARRIS

LUMBER CAMP

oil on board, mounted to board
8 ins x 8.75 ins; 20.3 cms x 22.2 cms

Estimate $30,000-$50,000

Realised: $41,300
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Additional Images
LAWREN STEWART HARRIS
  • LAWREN STEWART HARRIS
  • LAWREN STEWART HARRIS
Provenance:

Thoreau MacDonald (son of J.E.H. MacDonald), Toronto
Collection of Mrs. A.C. Kenny
Private Collection, Oakville

Literature:

Jeremy Adamson, Lawren S. Harris: Urban Scenes and Wilderness Landscapes, 1906-1930, exhibition catalogue, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 1978, page 14, 23 and 43 and page 43, cat. no. 24 for The Drive (Collection of the National Gallery of Canada), reproduced.

Note:

According to an inscription by Thoreau MacDonald on the backing, this work was probably executed circa 1912. MacDonald suggests: “The lumber camp may have been within Algonquin Park or northern U.S.”

In 1909, Harris spent weeks on assignment for Harper’s Magazine in a Minnesota lumber camp. Adamson writes: “It was here that the artist first came in direct contact with the austere majesty of the north.” The Minnesota trip did not only yield commercial material for Harper’s, but from sketches made there, Harris selected two Minnesota subjects to exhibit in the Ontario Society of Artists exhibit of that year. For the 1912 spring O.S.A. exhibition, Harris exhibited six canvases including a logging scene, The Drive, that was one of only two full scale canvases Harris had done to date and according to Adamson his first distinctly Northern Ontario subject. Clearly, Harris had identified a trope in the lumber camps and log drives that was the ideal vehicle for his expression of the “North” the interpretation of which he would pursue in paint and poetry for decades to come.

While Harris had also visited Algonquin Park by 1914, it seems more likely that this lot pre-dates this, and was executed ca. 1912 as suggested by Thoreau MacDonald.

CONDITION DETAILS

For condition information please contact the specialist.

LOT 57
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.