Lot 34
Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Casson, OSA, RCA (1898-1992)
Lot 34 Details
Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Casson, OSA, RCA (1898-1992), Canadian
GLEN WILLIAMS, 1938
oil on board
signed; signed, titled and dated verso; also titled and dated to gallery label verso
9.5 x 11.5 in — 24.1 x 29.2 cm
Estimate $30,000-$40,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
Roberts Gallery, Toronto, ON;
Private Collection, Victoria, BC
Note:
Glen Williams is a quintessential subject in A.J. Casson’s prolific career.
In the early 1930s the Group of Seven officially disbanded and reemerged as the Canadian Group of Painters (CGP). At the same time, Casson’s personal and professional lives were thriving, and he truly came into his own as an artist. As younger members of the CGP looked to urban life in a way the Group did not, Casson continued to find interest in small rural settlements. Signs of life in Casson’s paintings are also signs of humanity, and in Glen Williams, Ontario (about 50 kilometres due west of downtown Toronto), Casson found a place rich in subjects of the built and natural landscapes. Looking up a roadway separating a barn and a woodlot, most of this study is a dynamic sky that could easily be taken for an influence on the young Jack Bush. With subtle tone and potent design, Casson depicted a layered, turbulent atmosphere evocative of a world on the brink of war.