Surf of Fishing Boats, Barbados by James Edward Hervey MacDonald
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Cowley Abbott
326 Dundas St West
Toronto ON M5T 1G5
Ph. 1(416)479-9703
J.E.H. MacDonald
Surf of Fishing Boats, Barbados
oil on board
signed with initials and dated 1932 lower left; signed, titled and dated 1932 on the reverse
8.5 x 10.5 in ( 21.6 x 26.7 cm )
Estimated: $15,000.00 - $20,000.00
Dominion Gallery, Montreal
Private Collection, Toronto
From 1922 until his death in 1932, MacDonald placed his main emphasis on the basic, monumental structure of nature, which gave further expression to his early interest in design. This beautiful image reflects the power of the ocean surrounding the island of Barbados. Waves crash upon the beach on a sunny day. Tones of blue, green and white invoke the heat of the sun and the cool of the water. Sailboats fly by in the background, pushed on by the wind. The line between the dark seas and light blue sky reflects the infinity of the ocean as our viewer sits from the safety of the shore.
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James Edward Hervey MacDonald
(1873 - 1932) Group of Seven, OSA, RCA
J.E.H. MacDonald was born in Durham, England in 1873 of Canadian parents. He took evening art classes at the Hamilton Art School as a teenager, before relocating to Toronto. In Toronto, he studied at the Central Ontario School of Art. From 1894, he worked as a graphic designer at Grip Ltd. In 1903, he sailed for England and joined Carlton Studios, a London graphic firm. On his return to Canada in 1907 he rejoined Grip and began to paint the landscape near Toronto. Around this time, Tom Thomson joined the Grip staff. Frank H. Johnston joined a short time later. These artists found that they had much in common and began going on sketching trips as a group. In 1910, he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Canadian Academy. By 1912, all the original members of the Group of Seven had met and were sketching quite regularly together. MacDonald was devastated by the accidental drowning of Tom Thomson in 1917. He designed a brass plaque to Thomson's memory which was mounted to a cairn erected at Canoe Lake. The first official Group of Seven exhibition took place in May of 1920. MacDonald accepted a teaching position at the Ontario College of Art in 1921 and was appointed as principal in 1929. He continued to go on painting trips, but his teaching responsibilities sapped his energies and he did few large canvases during this time. He died in Toronto in 1932.