Thoreau MacDonald
(1901 - 1989) Canadian Group of Painters
Previously Sold Works
THOREAU MACDONALD
Fall Evening, Thornhill (and four drawings)
ink and wash
Lot of 5 drawings: Mink, Georgian Bay, 5.75’’ x 10’’, A Shower, 6’’ x 10.75’’, Untitled (Road) 1970 5.5’’ x 10’’, Untitled (Horses Grazing) pencil on paper, 3’’ x 5’’
6 x 10.25 ins ( 15.2 x 26 cms )
Auction Estimate: $400.00 - $800.00
Price Realized $345.00
Sale date: June 18th 2013
THOREAU MACDONALD
Fishing Under Log Bridge Near Thornhill; Farmer Hoeing; Rabbit and Flying Bird
three ink sketches (framed together)
each signed with initals; some damage present, sold as is and not subject to return
3 x 4.25 ins ( 7.6 x 10.8 cms ) ( each sight )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $400.00
Price Realized $345.00
Sale date: June 14th 2017
THOREAU MACDONALD
Farm Landscape
pen drawing
initialed lower right
3.75 x 3.75 ins ( 9.5 x 9.5 cms ) ( sight )
Auction Estimate: $100.00 - $150.00
Price Realized $354.00
Sale date: October 17th 2018
THOREAU MACDONALD
Christmas Night
one photolithographic reproduction and two postcards
“Season’s Greetings” / “Christmas Night” 8.5 x 9.25 ins. (folded), 8.5 x 17 ins. (unfolded); sold together with two postcards from the McMichael Conservation Collection of Art
8.5 x 17 ins ( 21.6 x 43.2 cms ) ( largest )
Auction Estimate: $500.00 - $700.00
Price Realized $360.00
Sale date: December 12th 2023
THOREAU MACDONALD
Morning Lake; Northern Summer; Harvest; Autumn-Farmhouse
four lithographs
“Morning Lake” (lithograph, signed and dated 1925 in the lower left margin; printed title and artist’s name lower right margin; subject 5.5 ins x 6.75 ins); “Northern Summer” (lithograph, signed and dated 1927 in the lower left margin; printed title and artist’s name lower right margin; subject 5.25 ins x 6.5 ins); “Harvest” (lithograph, signed and dated 1926 in the lower left margin; printed title and artist’s name lower right margin; subject 5.5 ins x 7 ins); “Autumn Farmhouse” (lithograph, signed and dated 1925 in the lower left margin; printed title and artist’s name lower right margin; subject 5.5 ins x 6 ins)
5.5 x 6 ins ( 14 x 15.2 cms ) ( smallest )
Auction Estimate: $250.00 - $300.00
Price Realized $266.00
Sale date: April 18th 2018
THOREAU MACDONALD
The Snowstorm
sampson-matthews silkscreen
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 27 ins ( 50.8 x 68.6 cms ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $150.00 - $250.00
Price Realized $258.00
Sale date: March 1st 2022
THOREAU MACDONALD
Winter Morning
sampson matthews silkscreen
inscribed “Supervised by A.J. Casson” lower right in ballpoint pen
20.5 x 27 ins ( 52.1 x 68.6 cms )
Auction Estimate: $200.00 - $300.00
Price Realized $230.00
Sale date: December 6th 2017
THOREAU MACDONALD
Marsh Hawk; Untitled Landscape
2 pencil sketches
Marsh Hawk: titled lower left, signed lower right (5 ins x 7.5 ins, sight); Untitled Landscape: initialed lower left (4.5 inx x 8 ins, sight)
4.5 x 8 ins ( 11.4 x 20.3 cms ) ( largest )
Auction Estimate: $200.00 - $300.00
Price Realized $236.00
Sale date: October 22nd 2019
THOREAU MACDONALD
Winter Evening
sampson-matthews silkscreen
signed lower left
19.75 x 26.5 ins ( 50.2 x 67.3 cms )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $400.00
Price Realized $212.00
Sale date: August 17th 2021
THOREAU MACDONALD
Snow Storm
sampson-matthews silkscreen
Sampson Matthews label on the reverse
19.75 x 26.5 ins ( 50.2 x 67.3 cms )
Auction Estimate: $300.00 - $500.00
Price Realized $216.00
Sale date: August 17th 2021
THOREAU MACDONALD
The Plough
sampson matthews silkscreen
There is a vertical crease present at the left half of the composition, running from the upper to lower edge, sold “as is” and not subject to return; unframed
20 x 30.25 ins ( 50.8 x 76.8 cms ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $200.00 - $300.00
Price Realized $144.00
Sale date: September 17th 2019
THOREAU MACDONALD
Three Horses in a Field
pencil sketch
initialed lower right
3 x 6.75 ins ( 7.6 x 17.1 cms ) ( sight )
Auction Estimate: $100.00 - $150.00
Price Realized $86.00
Sale date: June 14th 2017
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.
