signed and dated 1961 lower left, signed and titled on the reverse
16 × 12 in (40.6 × 30.5 cm)
Auction Estimate:$15,000 - $20,000
Sale date:November 19 - 28, 2014
Price Realized
$11,500
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
National Council of Jewish Women, Ottawa Section
Private Collection, Ottawa
Literature
Dennis Reid, “A Concise History of Canadian Painting”, Toronto, pages 177 and 179
Marjorie Lismer Bridges, “A Border of Beauty: Arthur Lismer's Pen and Pencil”, Toronto, 1977, pages 31, 36, 41 and 51
Arthur Lismer's “Dark Tree – BC Forest” is a luscious and intimate painting of the forest interior of British Columbia. Although Lismer was based in Ontario for most of his life, he travelled extensively both cross-country and abroad. In Canada he was most attracted to the “intimate subject matter of Georgian Bay, the Maritimes, and the woods and beaches of Vancouver Island.” “Lismer wanted to get close to his material. More and more he concentrated on the foreground; and in later years frequently ignored even the middle distance.”
Lismer's use of dramatic greens and a broad brush stroke reflect his feeling toward landscape painting in Canada. He said, “there is little of pictorial finish and mere pastoral sweetness, nothing finished to copy, little enticement for the seeker of conventional prettiness.” “Dark Tree – B.C. Forest” is painted in the style that Lismer is best known for during the 1940s-60s.
