Thoreau MacDonald
(1901 - 1989) Canadian Group of Painters
Previously Sold Works
THOREAU MACDONALD
Four Landscapes
four works on paper framed together
Snow-Covered House: ink drawing, unsigned (6 ins x 7 ins (subject)); Drawing from West by East: mixed media drawing, signed and titled in the lower margin (4 ins x 6.5 ins (subject)); Osprey, mixed media drawing, initialed and titled lower left (6 ins x 9 ins (subject)); Church Winter Scene: ink drawing, initialed to the right (6 ins x 7.5 ins (subject)); the four works displayed together in a single frame
6 x 9 ins ( 15.2 x 22.9 cms ) ( largest )
Auction Estimate: $400.00 - $600.00
Price Realized $3,776.00
Sale date: October 22nd 2019
THOREAU MACDONALD
The Plough
sampson matthews screenprint
artist name, title and “Issued by the National Gallery of Canada” printed in the margin; a Sampson Matthews label on the reverse; unframed
20 x 30 ins ( 50.8 x 76.2 cms ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $200.00 - $300.00
Price Realized $1,888.00
Sale date: September 29th 2020
THOREAU MACDONALD
Cottage; Summer; A Dream (from “Mountain Cloud”)
three ink drawing
“Cottage” (ink drawing; initialed in the lower right subject, inscribed “Mountain Cloud” and indistinctly in the lower margin); “Summer” (ink drawing; initialed in the lower left subject; titled in the lower margin and inscribed “Mountain Cloud” in the lower margin); “A Dream” (ink drawing; initialed in the upper left subject; titled, numbered “XVII”, and inscribed “new drawing” and “Mountain Cloud” in the lower margin)
3 x 4.5 ins ( 7.6 x 11.4 cms ) ( each subject )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $400.00
Price Realized $1,652.00
Sale date: September 12th 2018
THOREAU MACDONALD
Untitled, Farm Scenes
six woodcuts (framed together)
each signed in the lower left margin
3 x 3.75 ins ( 7.6 x 9.5 cms ) ( each )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $1,140.00
Sale date: August 15th 2023
THOREAU MACDONALD
The Snow Storm
sampson matthews screenprint
artist name, title and “Issued by the National Gallery of Canada” printed in the margin, initialled within the plate; a Sampson Matthews label on the reverse; unframed
20 x 27 ins ( 50.8 x 68.6 cms ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $944.00
Sale date: September 29th 2020
THOREAU MACDONALD
The Plow
sampson-matthews silkscreen
artist name, title and “Issued by the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa” printed in the lower margin; inscribed “Supervised by A.J. Casson”; a Sampson-Matthews label on the reverse; unframed
20 x 30 ins ( 50.8 x 76.2 cms )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $840.00
Sale date: March 30th 2021
THOREAU MACDONALD
Tom Thomson Litho (and four ink drawings)
ink and lithograph
Lot of 4 drawings and one Lithograph: Christian Island 1978, ink and wash, 7.25 x 12.5 in, S.S. Teresa, ink and wash, 5.25 x 9.75 in, Untitled (House at Thornhill) ink, 3 x 4.75 in, The Tug, Home Ride, ink and wash, 5.25 x 9.75 in. Lithograph of a drawing of Tom Thomson signed in pencil, 9x7.5 in.
9 x 7.5 ins ( 22.9 x 19.1 cms )
Auction Estimate: $400.00 - $800.00
Price Realized $690.00
Sale date: June 18th 2013
THOREAU MACDONALD
The Snowstorm
sampson-matthews silkscreen
artist name, title and “Issued by the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa” printed in the lower margin; inscribed “supervised by A. J. Casson” lower right; a Sampson-Matthews label on the reverse; unframed
20 x 27 ins ( 50.8 x 68.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $720.00
Sale date: March 30th 2021
THOREAU MACDONALD
Three Works
three woodblocks
“Untitled (Shoreline)” (signed and dated 1924 in the lower margin, 5.5 x 4.5 ins [subject]);
“Untitled (Horse and Cabin, Winter” (signed and dated 1923 in the lower margin, 3.5 x 3.5 ins [subject]);
“Untitled (Shoreline with Mountains)” (signed and dated 1924 lower right, 4.25 x 4.75 ins [subject])
5.5 x 4.5 ins ( 14 x 11.4 cms ) ( largest subject )
Auction Estimate: $600.00 - $800.00
Price Realized $720.00
Sale date: April 19th 2022
THOREAU MACDONALD
Anchor Post and Fox
ink and wash
signed with initials and titled lower left; dated 1970 lower right
5 x 9.25 ins ( 12.7 x 23.5 cms )
Auction Estimate: $200.00 - $300.00
Price Realized $633.00
Sale date: December 14th 2016
THOREAU MACDONALD
The Snow-storm
sampson-matthews silkscreen
20 x 26.75 ins ( 50.8 x 67.9 cms )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $649.00
Sale date: September 12th 2018
THOREAU MACDONALD
New Growth
lithograph with christmas cards and prints
illustration for “New Growth Series- The Relations of Men and Women”
sold together with:
-5 Christmas cards with images by the artist (each 5 ins x 6.25 ins); each unframed;
-14 reproduction prints of the artist’s sketches (each 5.25 ins x 8 ins); each unframed
6.5 x 4.75 ins ( 16.5 x 12.1 cms ) ( sight )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $400.00
Price Realized $660.00
Sale date: February 23rd 2021
THOREAU MACDONALD
A Calendar of Canadian Verse 1928
flip calendar and colour silkscreen on board
calendar intact and affixed with two staples (Irwin and Gordon Toronto, 1928);
sold with three unframed printed Christmas cards by the artist
12 x 6 ins ( 30.5 x 15.2 cms ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $400.00
Price Realized $660.00
Sale date: February 23rd 2021
THOREAU MACDONALD
109 Yonge Street, Thornhill (with two additional works of art)
three works of art
“109 Yonge Street” (initialed lower right, 4.5 ins x 5.5 ins); “Rushing River” by Caleb Keene (oil on panel, signed lower left (7.5 x 11 ins); “Cabbagetown” by John Palmer (oil on panel, signed lower right, signed, titled and dated 1979 on the reverse, 10 ins x 12 ins)
10 x 12 ins ( 25.4 x 30.5 cms ) ( largest )
Auction Estimate: $600.00 - $800.00
Price Realized $590.00
Sale date: June 26th 2019
THOREAU MACDONALD
Coyotes; Mountain Cloud
pair of woodcuts
“Coyotes” (woodcut, signed with initials and titled in pencil in the margin, sight 4.25 x 5 inches); “Mountain Cloud” (woodcut, signed with initials and titled in pencil in the margin, sight 4.75 x 4.5 inches)
4.25 x 5 ins ( 10.8 x 12.7 cms ) ( largest )
Auction Estimate: $150.00 - $250.00
Price Realized $590.00
Sale date: December 12th 2019
Thoreau MacDonald Biography
(1901 - 1989) Canadian Group of Painters
Thoreau MacDonald, illustrator, designer and painter, was born in Toronto in 1901. A self-taught painter, Thoreau worked alongside his father J.E.H. MacDonald. Colour blindness forced him to work mainly in black and white palettes. He illustrated for the Ryerson Press and the Canadian Forum magazine during the 1920s and 30s, a period when Canadian illustrated prints flourished. In general, his subject matter paralleled his father’s, though he tended to favour Ontario farmscapes.
