Untitled-Skunk Cabbage Study, 1956

Private Collection, Toronto

Dennis Reid, “Canadian Jungle: The Later Work of Arthur Lismer,” Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 1985, pages 51, 54

Arthur Lismer’s fascination with skunk cabbages is explored by Dennis Reid, who writes, “What proved to be another favourite B.C. subject for Lismer seems also to have been approached first in 1953. Given his predilections, it is not surprising that in his walks in the coastal forest he would be drawn to the floridly extravagant skunk cabbages that appear like grotesque efflorescence’s among the dead ferns and lesser flora of the forest. He was attracted in his drawing by the way their large fleshy leaves flop in every conceivable position, and in his oil sketching by the fantastic colours they assume through the various stages of growth, decline, and decay.” Lismer continued to paint skunk cabbages well into the late 1950s. In this study from 1956, he continues his exploration of the life of a skunk cabbage using the end of his brush to follow the outlines and patterns of the foliage. He also continues to place great emphasis on his colour choices. Reid shares that this is very characteristic of these studies: “During the late fifties the skunk cabbages in particular presented an opportunity to revel in the implications of dominant hues of purple, or red, green, brown, or yellow. Intense, of small format, they swell with an indeterminate scale.”