inscribed verso “To: Tom McDonough from Fred Banting M. D.” / “Painted at Jasper Park Lodge 1925”
Frederick Banting, the youngest of six children, was born on his family farm just outside of Alliston, Ontario. Widely known as the co-discoverer of insulin and co-recipient of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Medicine, Banting was also an accomplished artist, having taken up painting in 1920. Painting became Banting’s preferred means of escape and relaxation, particularly when the world of science and research became too stressful and demanding. This was particularly so after the 1923 Nobel win, when fame, and the expectation that he could cure more diseases weighed heavily on him.
In 1925, Banting joined the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, a favoured meeting spot for many artists of the day. It was through the Club that Banting became acquainted with A.Y. Jackson, one of the founding members of the Group of Seven. The two forged a friendship and travelled on numerous sketching trips together over the years, painting in Georgian Bay, rural Quebec, the St. Lawrence and the Eastern Arctic. Banting continued to develop his own personal style, though he was influenced by the Group, and likely inspired by Jackson, an avid traveller, to explore the landscape of the country through art. It is uncertain when, or if, Banting and Jackson painted together in the Rockies, but it seems very likely that sketches of the Rockies or tales of the area, by Jackson or another artist at the Club, prompted Banting’s sketching trip to Jasper. In fact, Jackson, along with fellow Group member Lawren Harris, had travelled and painted together in 1924, spending August and early September of that year in Jasper. This work by Banting, was completed the following year.
