Near the Banks of the South Saskatchewan River, Alberta, 1947

Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Toronto

A.Y. Jackson travelled and painted more of Canada than any other member of the Group of Seven. Jackson was a frequent guest of his brother Ernest, a Lethbridge judge. In 1937 and during these sojourns to Southern Alberta, Jackson began to take a keen interest in the landscape. Over the course of the next twenty years, Jackson would travel to Lethbridge regularly on painting excursions, particularly after teaching summer courses at the Banff School of Fine Arts. In fact, “Near the Banks of the South Saskatchewan River” was painted in the fall of 1947 following the close of Jackson’s seasonal duties at the Banff School. During his time in Lethbridge, Jackson became close friends with many members of the Lethbridge Sketch Club members and he Jackson would lead the group on painting excursions to the surrounding area. This sketch was most likely painted on just such an outing, east of Lethbridge, where the South Saskatchewan River originates at the confluence of the Bow and Oldman Rivers.