signed lower left; dated “circa 1923” on a label on the reverse
10.5 × 13 in (26.7 × 33.0 cm)
Auction Estimate:$20,000 - $30,000
Sale date:December 6, 2023
Price Realized
$26,400
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Mrs. M. Shiel, Vancouver
Warwick Gallery, Vancouver
Mr. and Mrs. Don MacPherson, Regina
Private Collection, Regina
Sotheby's Canada, auction, Toronto, 27 November 2012, lot 73
Private Collection, Calgary
Exhibited
“Regina Collects”, Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery, University of Regina, 7 September–21 October 1984, no. 47
Literature
Colin S. MacDonald, "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", Ottawa, 1977
“Regina Collects”, Regina, 1984, no. 47, reproduced pages 25-26
Franz Johnston held a solo exhibition of his work at the T. Eaton Company in December, 1920, when “The Mail and Empire” noted, “The position of Frank H. Johnston, A.R.C.A. among local artists is unique. Mr. Johnston is always classed as one of the much discussed 'Group of Seven,' but he has never got out of touch with the picture lovers who cannot quite get the viewpoint of his ultra-radical companions....He has the secret of the living, vivid colouring of the Northland, and catches the feeling of the wild spaces.”
Johnston's landscapes reflect his knowledge of turn-of-the-20th-century ideals, being more atmospheric and decorative than those of the Group of Seven. This difference in ideology and technique may partially explain why Johnston participated only in their first show in 1920. He was every bit as eager to express his love of the Canadian wilderness as they were but he wanted to paint in a different style. By 1921, Johnston had left Toronto to become the principal of the Winnipeg School of Art (1921-24). This luminous waterfront scene at dusk exemplifies the atmospheric quality that Johnston brings to his painting.
Frank Hans Johnston - Untitled - Shoreline Landscape | Cowley Abbott