Arden Village, 1957

Woljtjen Udell Gallery, Edmonton Mayberry Fine Art, Winnipeg Private Collection, Toronto

Paul Duval, A.J. Casson, Toronto, 1951, page 27 Peter Mellen, The Group of Seven, Toronto, 1981, pages 154-58

Nestled between Big Clear Lake and Kennebec Lake, Arden village is a small remote village in the Frontenac Region of Eastern Ontario, northwest of Kingston, Ontario. Like many other hamlets and villages that dot the rural areas of the province, Arden was developed in the 1800s largely by the descendants of the United Empire Loyalists. Often time, these small villages are characterized by their simple and charming shiplap clad homes and buildings with steep gables and river stone chimney's—a nod to the colonial preference in architecture at the time. As a professional working designer, A.J. Casson often took his painting trips within the boundaries of Ontario on weekends, visiting rural and remote areas of the province. Whereas some of his Group colleagues travelled across Canada on extensive sketching trips, Casson was more limited to Ontario and nearby areas of Quebec given the realities of his career and new family. As a result, Casson produced an extensive catalogue of works documenting the Ontario landscape and the unique personalities of each town, village and hamlet he visited. Executed in the artist's signature muted grey-blue tones, “Arden Village” is a pleasing depiction of a rather isolated community. Full of charm and a sense of community, the small town concentrates itself around Big Clear Lake where this Mill Pond, as captured in this work, is a beloved public swimming hole. Located at the intersection of Queen Street and Arden Road, the locale afforded Casson a favourite motif of sun-soaked white buildings and homes, the tokens of inhabitation and community development in the rugged wilderness.