Autumn Near Bancroft

Private Collection, Toronto

Margaret Gray, Margaret Rand and Lois Steen, "A.J. Casson: Canadian Artists 1", Ontario, 1976, page 27

A.J. Casson joined the Group of Seven painters in 1926 at the invitation of Franklin Carmichael. Casson was a design assistant to the artist, and eventually Carmichael became a friend, mentor and sketching companion. Casson is best known for his depictions of landscapes, forests and farms of southern Ontario. His love of nature was rooted in his childhood spent exploring the countryside around Guelph. As Casson once stated, “I love travelling, but I can’t paint in a strange place. So why run all over?”. A small, picturesque town nestled in the York River Valley on the southern edge of the Canadian Shield, "Autumn Near Bancroft" depicts the radiant autumnal colours in the hills near Bancroft, a town located on the York River and a popular destination for cottagers in Hastings County. Autumn and winter were the artist’s favourite painting seasons. Leaves change from green to orange and gold. The rocky terrain of the area is softened by the foliage of the forest. The depiction of a crisp, clear autumn day fosters a sense of appreciation from the viewer of the landscape's seasonal transformations. The simplified forms of the clouds and trees in "Autumn Near Bancroft" harken back to Casson's commercial training and experience. While commercial artists were often stigmatized by the art world academicians, Casson used his training to his advantage by creating clear, uncluttered compositions which were to become a hallmark of his work.