Literature
Paul Duval, 'J.E.H. MacDonald Biography' in D.G. Carmichael, "The McMichael Canadian Collection", Kleinburg, 1979, page 51
Since 1924, J.E.H. MacDonald had made regular trips to the Rockies, and his journey in August and September of 1929 would be his sixth and second-to-last. He stayed at the Lake O’Hara Lodge and its nearby cabins. In those days, the lodge was accessible only by horseback, and from there MacDonald would hike to his favourite locations. Known for his introspective and reserved demeanour, he nonetheless navigated the rugged terrain with ease, energized by the natural splendor around him.
One such favourite spot, the Odaray Bench—just southwest of Schäffer Lake on the McArthur Pass Trail—offered sweeping views to the north. MacDonald painted this scene using expressive brushwork and a refined colour palette, making this a particularly rich and textured rendering. The painting captures a majestic mountain range, rendered with dramatic peaks, rolling contours, and a glowing glacier nestled between the slopes. The composition rises sharply toward the sky, creating a sense of elevation and grandeur. MacDonald uses broad, expressive brushstrokes and a cool-toned palette dominated by blues, lavenders, soft creams, and ochres. The ridges and valleys are built up with rhythmic, almost sculptural bands of color, giving the forms a carved, monumental quality. The glacier at centre adds a bright, luminous contrast, catching the light and guiding the eye inward.
MacDonald’s artistic vision was grounded in a transcendental approach. For him, the subject itself mattered less than the emotional or spiritual response it evoked. In this work, he strove to convey his personal, poetic encounter with the grandeur of the landscape—the emotional resonance and the sense of the sublime it stirred in him. His process both challenged and supported this aim: painting oil sketches outdoors ("en plein air"), he had to respond quickly to shifting light and weather conditions. This urgency often brought a sense of immediacy to his work, and at times, sparked moments of poetic clarity.
MacDonald believed that the landscape was more than just scenery—it was a source of profound emotional and even metaphysical experience. His brushwork is expressive, and his palette bold, capturing the energy and vitality of nature, especially the forests, rivers, and mountain ranges of Canada. Author Paul Duval commented that "no Canadian landscape painter possessed a richer command of colour and pigment than J.E.H. MacDonald... His brushwork is at once disciplined and vigorous. His best on-the-spot sketches possess an intensity and freshness of execution not dissimilar from Van Gogh."
