Buttermilk Falls, Burk’s Falls, Ontario, circa 1932
oil on canvas
signed lower right; titled and dated “circa 1932” on the reverse
10.5 × 13.75 in (26.7 × 34.9 cm)
Auction Estimate:$1,500 - $2,000
Sale date:November 18 - 25, 2015
Price Realized
$977.5
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Private Collection, Ontario
Literature
Dorothy M. Farr, “J.W. Beatty: 1869-1941”, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, 1981, page 80, plate 36 for a very similar composition by J.W. Beatty
Louis Gagliardi (Introduction), “A Celebration of the Art and Life of Bernice Fenwick Martin”, Canadian Heritage Art Company Inc., Kleinburg, 2010, pages viii & ix
Taught and mentored by celebrated landscape painter J.W. Beatty between 1929 and 1934, “Buttermilk Falls, Burk's Falls”, Ontario was painted during Martin's time under Beatty's guidance, the painting bearing striking resemblance to a canvas by her teacher (Beatty's “Burk's Falls Bridge” is now part of the collection of the Toronto Board of Education). A challenging and sometimes harsh instructor, Beatty held Martin in high regard, sharing personal stories with his student and inviting her to accompany him upon sketching trips and to social outings, where Martin was introduced to A.Y. Jackson and Frederick Banting, among many others.