In the Woods - Wild Ridges, 1976

Roberts Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Ontario By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia

Paul Duval, Canadian Water Colour Painting, Toronto, 1954, unpaginated Ian M. Thom, Casson’s Cassons, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, 1988, page 24

Paul Duval writes that Casson “had become one of the most powerful and expressive watercolour painters Canada has ever known. His compositions had acquired a sure formalization, his washes were laid with a consummate assurance and the boldness of his colour revealed a brilliance and depth then rarely seen in the medium.” Casson's retirement from Sampson-Matthews in 1958 enabled him at last to devote himself full-time to painting. In 1961, Casson and his wife travelled to Britain with architect Bruce Brown and his wife. Brown was an amateur artist, and the purpose of the trip was to be a watercolour painting holiday. Casson had long been interested in British watercolour painting and his stay in Britain may have provided special inspiration to his later work. Ian Thom writes that the years since the artist’s retirement “have been rich ones...The work re-affirms his commitment to the landscape, sound principles of composition, subtle, evocative colour and an underlying emotional tension.” “In the Woods - Wild Ridges” demonstrates the subtle colour palette and well-structured composition that are central to Casson’s large body of work.