Provenance:

Robert Hood Saunders (Mayor of Toronto, 1945-1948).
Private Collection, Toronto.

Note:

“The Golden Glade” showcases Johnston’s talent in portraying the transitions between the Canadian seasons. While the majority of the artist’s post-Group of Seven work depicts the period bridging winter and spring, “The Golden Glade” provides the viewer with an early fall day, the clarity of the autumn air intermingling with the warmth of the waning summer season. The trees along the sloping shoreline are found to have already begun the metamorphosis toward the fall months, the orange and yellow foliage surrounding and overpowering the glimpses of green still found among the extended branches.

The forty-eighth mayor of Toronto, Robert Hood Saunders was a strong advocate for the Toronto subway system and followed his three-year term becoming chairman of Ontario Hydro. In his new position, Saunders set a mandate of developing Ontario’s waterpower resources with a focus on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Ultimately, he would not live to witness the success of his vision, the 53-year-old Saunders succumbing to injuries sustained in a plane crash in 1955. In 1958, the St. Lawrence Power Project was named The R.H. Saunders – St. Lawrence Station in his memory, Ontario Premier Leslie M. Frost describing Saunders (at the unveiling of the Project) as “a person of kindness and understanding; a very human being in many capacities and in many ways. His accomplishments were legion…It is a fitting tribute to his memory that the St. Lawrence Power Project be named after him”.