Homestead/Farm Landscape

Private Collection, Toronto

Known to many as the co-discoverer of insulin, Sir Frederick Banting’s artistic career, although lesser known, is equally notable. Upon his return to Canada after World War II he sought out Group of Seven artist A.Y. Jackson, also a war veteran, as he was interested in acquiring his work. Banting refined his practice under the tutelage of Jackson. The artist looked to Jackson for guidance and advice to better develop what was first a pastime, into a career. Banting was very familiar with farm life. The youngest of six children, Banting grew up as part of a hard-working and prosperous farming family in the Alliston area, 60 kilometres north of Toronto. With bold swaths of paint, this double-sided oil encapsulates the artist's affinity for tight compositions. Akin to Jackson's renderings of villages and landscapes, the importance of the daily lives of the inhabitants are equal to the natural landscape. Sleigh tracks, wisps of chimney smoke and firewood piles all signal village life and labour integral to the development of rural villages and industry within Canada. Here, Banting paints this ideal subject - capturing the crisp autumn colours and mood of the changing seasons.