signed lower right; signed and titled on the original backing paper; titled and dated on the original typed label (attached verso)
Provenance: Masters Gallery, Calgary, AB (label verso)
A. J. Casson was introduced to the members of the Group of Seven in 1920 by Franklin Carmichael, his mentor and friend. The young artist became a regular contributor to Group shows, though did not join them on a sketching trip until 1925. The following year, he accepted the invitation to succeed Franz Johnston, becoming the Group’s youngest member at age 28. In 1926 he was also awarded associate membership of the prestigious Royal Canadian Academy (becoming a full member in 1939).
Casson’s design and illustration history, first at Rous & Mann, then Sampson-Matthews (where he would become art director and vice-president), was integral to the development of his artistic style and to setting his work apart from the Group. Casson also strove to set himself apart with a subject matter that often focused on the farmlands, villages and more settled areas of Ontario.
Here, Casson returns to the roots of the Group, with a quintessential image of Algonquin Park, on a characteristic small panel. Algonquin Park, with its quiet and rugged beauty, was an area originally introduced by Tom Thomson, and to which the Group shared such a strong connection that they had once contemplated the name “Algonquin School”.
Casson was a passionate and avid promoter of this school of distinctly Canadian art. He was active and influential within the artistic community over his long and distinguished career. He served as president of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1948-52), president of the Ontario Society of Artists (1941-44) and sat on several boards including what is now the Art Gallery of Ontario (1955-59). He was also instrumental in founding the Canadian Group of Painters, the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, and in instigating the WWII war artist’s program.