Please note our offices will be closed from Friday March 29 through Monday April 1 for Easter. Local pick-ups will start on Tuesday April 2.
      
      
      
      

LOT 106

AAM CGP CSGA CSPWC G7 OSA RCA
1885 - 1969
Canadian

Country Farm
oil on canvas on board, circa 1916
signed and on verso titled Country Farm at Egmont, N.S. [sic] on the Zwicker's Gallery label, dated 1918 [sic] on the Zwicker's Gallery label and inscribed Box 880 St. John, NB and Wm Currie Halifax NS (Roy Building) and indistinctly
12 x 15 1/4 in, 30.5 x 38.7 cm

Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD

Sold for: $61,250

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
Zwicker's Gallery, Halifax
Collection of Malcolm McAlpine
Sold sale of Canadian Art, Joyner Fine Art Inc., May 26, 1995, lot 143
Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Lois Darroch, Bright Land: A Warm Look at Arthur Lismer, 1981, the circa 1917 canvas entitled Springtime on the Farm, in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, reproduced page 29
Gemey Kelly, Arthur Lismer, Nova Scotia, 1916 - 1919, Dalhousie Art Gallery, 1982, reproduced plate 6, page 39
Charles C. Hill, The Group of Seven: Art for a Nation, National Gallery of Canada, 1995, the 1917 canvas entitled Springtime on the Farm, in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, discussed page 311, reproduced figure 49, page 99

EXHIBITED
Dalhousie Art Gallery, Halifax, Arthur Lismer, Nova Scotia, 1916 - 1919, December 2, 1982 – January 9, 1983, traveling in 1983 to St. John's, Fredericton and Charlottetown, catalogue #6


In 1915, Arthur Lismer and his family moved to the town of Thornhill, north of Toronto. His fellow Group of Seven painter J.E.H. MacDonald was already living there, and soon, the two artists were joined by Frederick Varley and Franklin Carmichael, and visited by A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris. While World War I was taking place, Thornhill offered a pleasant respite, and since it was pastoral, it also offered good subjects and peaceful working conditions. The artists spent their evenings talking about such vital subjects as their dream of a new national school of painting—which the Group would ultimately form. Lismer had a sizable garden with fruit trees, vegetables and flowers, and Charles Hill notes, in reference to a canvas of this subject, that it depicts the garden of the Lismers’ home on John Street in Thornhill. Country Farm is a lush and beautiful work, executed using textural brushwork and brilliant colour. The rich blue sky, with its round floating clouds, exudes tranquility, and the figures of the man and child animate the scene. In Country Farm, Lismer distilled the essence of this bucolic time and created an indelible impression.


Estimate: $25,000 - $35,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.