signed lower left; titled on the artist label on the reverse
16 × 20 in (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Auction Estimate:$10,000 - $15,000
Sale date:November 23, 2017
Price Realized
$18,400
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Roberts Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, Ontario
Literature
Robert Burford Mason, A Grand Eye for Glory: A Life of Franz Johnston, Toronto, 1998, page 40
Franz Johnston was praised for his handling of light and his ability to capture contrasts between sunlit colour and depths of shade. His treatment of the Canadian landscape in a decorative style set him apart from other Group of Seven members. In a review of his first independent exhibition in 1920, the “Globe and Mail” remarked on this approach: “Keen dramatic sense, Mr. Johnston leans strongly to the decorative treatment of his subject.” Johnston exemplifies this approach in Fine Weather, a harmonious composition of crisp white snow, a sparkling river, and screen of leafless trees before a glowing blue sky. Views of snow-covered forests lend themselves well to the artist’s preferred style, which Johnston frequently depicted in picturesque renderings.
