Roger Burford Mason, “A Grand Eye For Glory: A Life of Franz Johnston”, Toronto, 1998, pages 69-70
In a “Grand Eye for Glory”, Roger Burford Mason provides a story told by Jack McCurdy, a friend of Johnston and the owner of a fishing camp on Onaman Lake where Johnston regularly visited to paint. McCurdy witnessed Johnston painting another winter nocturne scene, the frigid temperature keeping Johnston from sketching outside. “McCurdy remembers Johnston's modus operandi with amusement: he would rush outside to look at the spectacle for a few moments, and then rush back inside the cabin to paint”, the artist working this way from early evening until two o'clock in the morning to complete his work. Given his mastery of effectively capturing such challenging scenes, it is no wonder that Franz Johnston put in such effort.
