Twigs in Winter, 1937

Estate of the Artist Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto Heffel, auction, Toronto, 23 November 2016, lot 150 Private Collection, Toronto

"David Milne: City Streets and Northern Scenes", Mira Godard Gallery, Calgary, April 1981, no. 11 "David Milne, 1882-1953: ‘Bright Garden’," Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, 18 October-5 November 1986 "Fifty Years of Canadian Landscape Painting", Grace Borgenicht Gallery, New York, 3 April-2 May 1987

"David Milne: City Streets and Northern Scenes", Calgary, 1981, no. 11 Christopher Hume, 'Paintings of Genius', "Toronto Star", 31 October 1986, D13 Karen Wilkin, "David Milne, 1882-1953: ‘Bright Garden’," Toronto, 1986, reproduced page 17 Karen Wilkin, "Fifty Years of Canadian Landscape Painting", New York, 1987, page 26 David Silcox, "Painting Place: The Life and Work of David B. Milne", Toronto, 1996, page 1 David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, "David B. Milne: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Volume 2: 1929-1953", 1998, reproduced page 634, no. 305.6

David Milne returned permanently to Canada in 1929, famously living and painting in the rural landscapes of Temagami, Weston and Palgrave. In April 1933, Milne parted ways with his wife Patsy and undertook a canoe trip on Lake Couchiching, before settling at the remote Six Mile Lake in Muskoka, Ontario in a cabin he constructed himself. It was during this time that the artist spent his days painting, journaling and maintaining a humble lifestyle in the seclusion of the wilderness. The Six Mile Lake period was an exceptionally productive time for the artist and would see him explore a focus on landscape and still-life painting that express a deep spiritual connection to the natural world. "Twigs in Winter" was completed towards the end of this period in 1937 and illustrates the artist’s unique approach to colour and composition during the 1930s. This delightful scene suggests an early-winter day as indicated by the snow-encrusted twigs which are tipped with flowers beneath a lightly clouded blue sky. Milne’s intention was not to simply record a detailed representation of the land or a specific object but to transform his impression of nature into aesthetic emotion, which he conveyed through colour, texture and design. Milne observed that: “The painter gets an impression from some phase of nature … he simplifies and eliminates until he knows exactly what stirred him, sets this down in colour and line and so translates his impression into aesthetic emotion.” The artist often employed a sparse and reduced palette that included the use of whites, greys and blacks to create an area of strong contrast known as a “dazzle spot.” Authors Milroy and Dejardin describe Milne’s so-called dazzle spot as being designed to direct the viewers’ eye toward the essence of a painting. Though directly influenced by the well-known French Impressionists Claude Monet and Henri Matisse, Milne’s unique ability to capture the essence of his subject, rather than its details, made him distinct. During the 1930s, Milne’s art would flourish under the patronage of Alice and Vincent Massey, whose association with the Canadian art dealer Douglas Duncan propelled the artist into a broader community of influential writers, critics and collectors. This association marked the beginning of a long-term friendship and by 1938, Duncan became the exclusive representative of Milne’s work. From Six Mile Lake, paintings were sent to exhibitions in Toronto, Ottawa, Chicago, New York and the Tate Gallery in London, England. The artist’s Six Mile Lake period lasted from 1933 to 1939 and encapsulates the inventiveness and clarity of vision that are hallmarks of the artist’s oeuvre.