Surf, Barbados, B.W.I. , circa 1932

Sotheby’s Canada, auction, Toronto, May 12, 1975, lot 89 Yaneff International Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto

Upon suffering a stroke, J.E.H. MacDonald returned to a favourite vacation spot in Barbados in the British West Indies to recuperate and convalesce. Sailing from Boston with his wife in early February 1932, MacDonald stayed on the tropical island for three months until May 1932, then returning to Toronto for the summer months ahead of his teaching post. While in Barbados, the artist produced a large body of work including bright seascapes and intimate studies of foliage and flora. On the work produced during this time, Paul Duval writes that “they prove, once again, MacDonald’s ability to quickly adjust to a new landscape environment...In the Barbados, as in Nova Scotia, he luxuriated in the sense of freedom he always found by the sea.” The lush ethereal cloud forms depicted in “Surf, Barbados, B.W.I.” serve as an excellent example of the artist’s apt rendering of the atmosphere in his paintings. This painting closely aligns with the style of his works produced in Nova Scotia, utilizing similar fresh colour palettes of light turquoises and butter yellows, capturing the brightness of the coast.