Wapomeo Island is located in Algonquin Park’s Canoe Lake, one of Canada’s most mythic painting locales. A profound source of inspiration for generations of artists, it is perhaps most synonymous with Tom Thomson. Thomson’s influence was a guiding light to Ontario’s Group of Seven, who formally inducted A.J. Casson as a member in 1926. The imposing influence of these artists was something Casson was acutely aware of as he sought to maintain his own artistic identity. He, for example, avoided sketching trips to Quebec for many years, considering that province the artistic domain of A.Y. Jackson

It is notable, then, that Casson elected to paint this highly significant setting. His choice speaks to the confidence Casson would have felt at this point in his career, after experiencing multiple decades of success and admiration. Indeed, this fine canvas exhibits both clarity and self-assurance in Casson’s handling of the landscape and his refined palette. The stylized structures of the clouds hang imposing but weightless, casting shadows on the scene below. With a deft and painterly touch, Casson darkens the sky from right to left, imbuing the distant atmosphere with an authentic sense of storm.