Alfred Joseph Casson
(1898 - 1992) Group of Seven, Canadian Group of Painters, PRCA, OSA, CSPWC
Previously Sold Works
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Thunderstorm (1933)
oil on canvas
signed lower right; signed and titled on the artist’s label on the stretcher
30 x 36 ins ( 76.2 x 91.4 cms )
Auction Estimate: $300,000.00 - $400,000.00
Price Realized $480,000.00
Sale date: December 1st 2022
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Mill Lake, Parry Sound
oil on board
signed lower left; titled on a label on the reverse
9.25 x 11.25 ins ( 23.5 x 28.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $40,000.00 - $60,000.00
Price Realized $144,000.00
Sale date: June 15th 2022
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Storm in the Cloche Hills
oil on board
signed lower right
30 x 36 ins ( 76.2 x 91.4 cms )
Auction Estimate: $60,000.00 - $80,000.00
Price Realized $118,000.00
Sale date: November 20th 2018
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Northern Valley
oil on board
signed lower right; dated 1946 and inscribed “Small Picture O.S.A. Simpsons” on the reverse; titled on a label on the reverse
18 x 21.5 ins ( 45.7 x 54.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $90,000.00 - $120,000.00
Price Realized $120,000.00
Sale date: June 15th 2022
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Barns at Grenville, Quebec
oil on canvas
signed lower right
24 x 30 ins ( 61 x 76.2 cms )
Auction Estimate: $80,000.00 - $120,000.00
Price Realized $94,400.00
Sale date: May 29th 2018
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Pic Island, Lake Superior
oil on board
signed lower right; signed, titled and dated 1928 on the reverse, signed and titled on the artist label on the reverse
9.5 x 11.25 in ( 24.1 x 28.6 cm )
Auction Estimate: $30,000.00 - $50,000.00
Price Realized $78,000.00
Sale date: May 30th 2024
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
October Afternoon-Bancroft
oil on canvas
signed lower right; signed, titled and dated on the artist’s label on the reverse
30 x 37 in ( 76.2 x 94 cm )
Auction Estimate: $70,000.00 - $90,000.00
Price Realized $78,000.00
Sale date: May 30th 2024
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
The Camel’s Hump, Lake of Bays
oil on canvas
signed lower right; titled and inscribed “circa 1983” on a label on the stretcher
20 x 24 ins ( 50.8 x 61 cms )
Auction Estimate: $60,000.00 - $80,000.00
Price Realized $72,000.00
Sale date: December 1st 2022
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Rain Clouds
oil on canvas
signed lower right; signed and dated 1976 on a label on the reverse
24 x 30 ins ( 61 x 76.2 cms )
Auction Estimate: $60,000.00 - $80,000.00
Price Realized $72,000.00
Sale date: December 6th 2023
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Oxtongue Lake
oil on board
signed lower right; signed, titled and dated 1971 on the reverse
12 x 15 ins ( 30.5 x 38.1 cms )
Auction Estimate: $18,000.00 - $22,000.00
Price Realized $45,600.00
Sale date: June 8th 2023
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Lake of Two Rivers - Algonquin Park
oil on board
signed lower right; signed, titled and dated 1942 on the reverse
9.5 x 11.25 ins ( 24.1 x 28.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $30,000.00 - $40,000.00
Price Realized $43,200.00
Sale date: June 15th 2022
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Northern Farm-Madawaska Valley, circa 1959
oil on board
signed lower right; signed, titled and inscribed “Property of my wife” on the reverse
12 x 15 ins ( 30.5 x 38.1 cms )
Auction Estimate: $20,000.00 - $30,000.00
Price Realized $43,200.00
Sale date: June 8th 2023
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Near Kincardine
oil on board
signed lower right; signed, titled and dated 1968 on the reverse
9.5 x 11.25 ins ( 24.1 x 28.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $25,000.00 - $35,000.00
Price Realized $40,800.00
Sale date: November 22nd 2021
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Old Hotel, Elora
oil on board
signed lower right; signed, titled and dated 1929 on the reverse
9.5 x 11.25 ins ( 24.1 x 28.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $30,000.00 - $40,000.00
Price Realized $36,800.00
Sale date: May 25th 2017
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON
Jackknife Bay
oil on board
signed lower right; signed, titled and dated “September ‘82” on the reverse
12 x 15 ins ( 30.5 x 38.1 cms )
Auction Estimate: $20,000.00 - $25,000.00
Price Realized $34,500.00
Sale date: May 31st 2016
Consignments
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A.J. Casson Biography
(1898 - 1992) Group of Seven, Canadian Group of Painters, PRCA, OSA, CSPWC
Born in Toronto, Ontario, he started art studies at Ryerson School and later under John S. Gordon at the Hamilton Technical School when his family moved to Hamilton. His family moved back to Toronto in 1916 and he worked free lance and studied evenings at the Ontario College of Art, the Toronto Central Technical School under Alfred Howell, and classes under Harry Britton who first taught him watercolour techniques and introduced him to oil painting.
When the young A.J. Casson first took a position as design assistant to Franklin Carmichael at the firm of Rous and Mann, he could not have known the remarkable direction his career would take. The demanding but affable Carmichael became a friend, mentor and sketching companion. In fact, it was Carmichael who introduced Alfred Casson to members of the Group of Seven at Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club. The dedicated artist began to exhibit with the Group and became a natural successor to Frank Johnston when he left to pursue other interests.
He exhibited for the first time with the Ontario Society of Artists in 1921, and in 1923 his canvas “Clearing” was purchased by the National Gallery of Canada. Casson , Carmichael and F. H. Brigden formed the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour in 1925 “to encourage and foster the art of watercolour in Canada.” F. B. Housser wrote in the Year Book of Arts in Canada “Carmichael and Casson are painting in watercolours … giving to Canadian landscape a statement in watercolour as bold and untraditional as that which some of their associates have given it in oils.”
Most of Casson’s large canvases were done between 1926 and 1930 when he found his subject matter in the Haliburton Region and Lake Superior areas. It was about 1924 that Casson became interested in the Ontario village. He made many pencilled sketches of structural details which became a valuable reference for his larger studies in oils like “Anglican Church at Magnetawan” completed in 1933 and purchased by the National Gallery of Canada in 1936. In his depiction of the more settled areas of southern Ontario, A.J. Casson was deliberately seeking out subject matter that set his work apart from the preferred material of other Group of Seven members. Alfred Casson’s strong design background shaped a unique painting style, characterized by graceful lines and carefully considered compositions. With the passing of time his style underwent a subtle change in which pattern became an essential element in his work.
In addition to his dedication to excellence in his own work, A.J. Casson was instrumental in the formation of important Canadian art organizations such as the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, the Canadian Group of Painters and the WWII War Artists Program. Vice President and Art Director for Sampson-Matthews Ltd. for almost 20 years, he was responsible for the technical development of programs in connection with reproduction of artists’ works carried out by the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Pulp and Paper Association and Sampson-Matthews Limited. He did heraldic work which was reproduced by Sampson-Matthews Ltd. including armorial bearings of Canada and a series of landscapes.
There can be no doubt that over a long career, which spanned much of the twentieth century, Alfred Joseph Casson left an indelible mark on the Canadian art landscape.
Source: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977
1898 Alfred Joseph Casson born in Toronto
1912 Studies at Hamilton Technical School under John S. Gordon
1913 Apprenticeship at the Laidlaw Lithography Company in Hamilton, Ont.
1914 Apprenticeship at Commercial Engravers Company
1915 Freelance designer
1915-1917 Studies at Toronto Central Technical College under Alfred Howell
1918-1921 Studies at the Ontario College of Art under J.W. Beatty
1919-1926 Assistant Designer to Franklin Carmichael at the design firm of Rous and Mann Ltd.
1920 Carmichael introduces Casson to Group of Seven members at Toronto’s Arts and Letters Club
1921 Exhibits for the first time with the Ontario Society of Artists; accompanies Carmichael on an extended painting trip to Rosseau Lake in the Muskoka district
1922 Exhibits for the first time with the Group of Seven
1923 “Clearing”, is purchased by the National Gallery of Canada; becomes a member of the Ontario Society of Artists
1925 Founding member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour together with Franklin Carmichael and F.H. Brigden
1926 Becomes a member of the Group of Seven upon the departure of Frank Johnston; accompanies Franklin Carmichael to the design firm of Sampson-Matthews; becomes an associate member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts; buys a car and begins to explore the small villages and hamlets of Southern Ontario
1926-1930 Sketches in the regions of Haliburton and Lake Superior
1928 Sketching trip to Lake Superior with A.Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris and Franklin Carmichael
1933 Co-founds the Canadian Group of Painters after the dissolution of the Group of Seven, following the death of J.E.H. MacDonald
1936 Anglican Church at Magnetawan is purchased by the National Gallery of Canada
1939 Becomes a full member of the RCA
1939-1945 Appointed as a member of Canada’s War Records Committee; helps to establish the WWII War Artists Program
1940 Elected President of the Ontario Society of Artists
1942 Appointed Art Director of Sampson-Matthews
1946 Appointed Vice-President of Sampson-Matthews
1949 Publishes “The Possibilities of Silk Screen Reproduction” in Canadian Art magazine
1948 Elected President of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts; receives the Province of Ontario Award
1954 Awarded the Gold Medal for Excellence in Canadian Advertising
1955-1959 Appointed Vice-President of the Art Gallery of Ontario
1957 Retires from Sampson-Matthews in order to pursue painting on a full-time basis; awarded Gold Medal from the University of Alberta
1967 Awarded Canada’s Silver Centennial Medal
1970 Awarded the Royal Canadian Academy Medal; conferred with an Honourary LL.D. from the University of Western Ontario
1971 Conferred with an Honourary Degree from the University of Saskatchewan
1973 Becomes a Fellow of the Ontario College of Art; awarded the City of Toronto Award of Merit for distinguished public service
1975 Conferred with an Honourary LL.D. from the University of Toronto
1977 Awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
1979 Awarded the Order of Canada
1980 Conferred with an D.F.A. from Mount Allison University
1982 Conferred with an Honourary LL.D. from McMaster University
1991 Awarded the Order of Ontario
1992 Dies in Toronto at the age of 93