Aaron Allan Edson
(1846 - 1888) SCA, OSA, RCA
Previously Sold Works
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Through the Clearing, circa 1870
oil on canvas
signed with monogram lower right
13 x 10.25 ins ( 33 x 26 cms )
Auction Estimate: $1,000.00 - $1,500.00
Price Realized $6,000.00
Sale date: June 8th 2023
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Mountain Stream
oil on canvas
initialed and indistinctly dated lower left
10 x 8 in ( 25.4 x 20.3 cm )
Auction Estimate: $900.00 - $1,200.00
Price Realized $2,000.00
Sale date: April 23rd 2024
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Untitled (French Country Landscape)
oil on canvas
signed lower right
17 x 23 in ( 43.2 x 58.4 cm )
Auction Estimate: $900.00 - $1,200.00
Price Realized $2,400.00
Sale date: July 23rd 2024
AARON ALLAN EDSON
The Ice Palace, Montreal, 1885
watercolour
signed lower right
18.5 x 13 ins ( 47 x 33 cms )
Auction Estimate: $2,000.00 - $3,000.00
Price Realized $1,800.00
Sale date: April 19th 2022
AARON ALLAN EDSON
The Bridle Path, Mount Royal, Montreal
oil on board
titled on the reverse
23 x 17 ins ( 58.4 x 43.2 cms )
Auction Estimate: $800.00 - $1,000.00
Price Realized $1,800.00
Sale date: May 31st 2022
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Figures in a Wooded Landscape
oil on canvas
signed lower left
15 x 21.75 ins ( 38.1 x 55.2 cms )
Auction Estimate: $1,200.00 - $1,500.00
Price Realized $1,380.00
Sale date: December 6th 2017
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Exploring the Bridle Path, Mount Royal, Montreal
oil on board
23 x 17 ins ( 58.4 x 43.2 cms )
Auction Estimate: $800.00 - $1,000.00
Price Realized $1,320.00
Sale date: May 31st 2022
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Forest Scene with Farmhouse
oil on canvas
signed lower right; titled on the gallery label on the reverse
24 x 18 ins ( 61 x 45.7 cms )
Auction Estimate: $800.00 - $1,000.00
Price Realized $1,320.00
Sale date: April 18th 2023
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Landscape in Glen Sutton
watercolour
signed lower left
15.5 x 22 ins ( 39.4 x 55.9 cms ) ( subject )
Auction Estimate: $600.00 - $800.00
Price Realized $885.00
Sale date: October 22nd 2019
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Crossing the Stream
watercolour on paper, laid on card
signed lower left: inscribed “Painted by Mr. Edson” and indistinctly with the name of the original owner on a piece of the original frame backing (which is attached to the reverse)
20.25 x 27 ins ( 51.4 x 68.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $800.00 - $1,000.00
Price Realized $826.00
Sale date: July 14th 2020
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Scène Champêtre
watercolour
signed lower left; titled on a label on the reverse
11.5 x 17.25 ins ( 29.2 x 43.8 cms ) ( sight )
Auction Estimate: $500.00 - $700.00
Price Realized $561.00
Sale date: June 23rd 2020
AARON ALLAN EDSON
At Knowlton
watercolour on paper
initialed lower right; titled on a label on the reverse
12 x 8 ins ( 30.5 x 20.3 cms ) ( sight )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $400.00
Price Realized $270.00
Sale date: April 18th 2023
AARON ALLAN EDSON
Mountain Stream
oil on canvas
signed with initials and dated 1872 lower left
10 x 8 ins ( 25.4 x 20.3 cms )
A.A. Edson Biography
(1846 - 1888) SCA, OSA, RCA
Born in Stranbridge, Quebec in 1846, he attended the Stranbridge East Village school in 1852-3. His family moved to Montreal where he got a job as a bookkeeper for an art dealer. His writing was so poor that his employer, A. J. Pell, decided to put him on art work. He met C. R. Jacobi, C. J. Way, and Adolph Vogt and received occasional assistance from each of them. J. C. Baker, from Edson’s home town, was so impressed with his talent that he paid for his study in England around 1864. Edson returned Baker’s kindness by sending him some of his paintings. He began to make his mark as early as 1866, when he was noted not only for his talents, but also for his involvement in art associations.
He was a founding member of the Society of Canadian Artists in 1867 and showed some of his work in its first exhibition the following year. He was also one of the first members of the Ontario Society of Artists, which was founded 1872. When the Royal Canadian Academy was founded in 1879 Edson was made a charter member. In 1866 Edson settled at Glen Sutton, Quebec, where he painted several winter scenes. A. H. Robson noted his work in watercolours and referred to his sense of colour as “very subtle and delightful.”
Edson went to Europe again to sketch for a year. He took a third trip to Scotland and England, and then spent four or five years in Paris where he met and studied under Léon Pelouse. When he returned to Canada he became known for his fine landscapes which attracted the attention of the Marquis of Lorne and Princess Louise who purchased two of his paintings which they gave to Queen Victoria. Although described by his contemporaries as a modest man, he was from 1870 onward considered one of Canada’s foremost landscape painters. Several of his works were influenced by the American Hudson River School of Painting.
Although he lived most of his life in Montreal, Edson did a considerable amount of work in his native Eastern Townships, where he returned to live shortly before his death. His paintings are known for their tranquil depictions of nature and for their unusual lighting effects. After Edson’s death in 1888 his sketches left in his studio were sold for five thousand dollars, a considerable sum in those days. He is represented in the National Gallery of Canada by a lake scene from the Eastern Townships, dated 1870 and signed Allan Edson. He died at Glen Sutton, Quebec, and was buried in the Mount Royal Cemetery.
Sources: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977
