Acquired directly from the artist
By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario
Literature
Charles Beale, “Manly MacDonald: Interpreter of Old Ontario,” Napanee, 2010, pages 8-10
To paint a team of horses, MacDonald set up an easel on the side of the farmer’s field and sketched them passing back and forth. He did not work from photographs, as he believed it resulted in static poses. MacDonald’s love of horses and knowledge of farm animals enabled him to excel at painting their form in fluid motion. As he watched the horses return to pass by his chosen position, the artist would add details until he felt he had captured the essence of the horses and the scene. MacDonald succeeds at this in the semi-impressionistic “Winter Logging Scene,” where he accurately depicts the movement of the horses emerging from the forest and trotting towards the viewer.
