signed lower left; titled, dated "September 19th, 1947" and inscribed "Bar X Ranch" on the reverse; titled and dated on the gallery and exhibition labels on the reverse
10.5 × 13.5 in (26.7 × 34.3 cm)
(including Buyer's Premium)
F.E.M. Robinson
R. Carshell, Calgary (owner of Bar X Ranch)
Masters Gallery, Calgary Private Collection
Trailblazer Donor Event, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, 12 May 1999
The Group of Seven in Western Canada; travelling to the Glenbow Museum, Calgary; Art Gallery of Nova Scotia; Winnipeg Art Gallery; Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 13 July 2002-2 January 2004, no. 160
Catharine Mastin, The Group of Seven in Western Canada, Calgary, 2002, no. 160, listed page 203
Snow in September belongs to A.Y. Jackson’s lifelong practice of sketching small, portable works in the wilderness, which are then brought into the studio as a reference for much larger canvases. By the late 1940s, Jackson spent much of his time in Alberta painting grain elevators and snowy peaks while also spending his summers teaching at the Banff School of Fine Arts. Just as in his own practice, Jackson would regularly take his students outdoors to sketch nature.
Jackson’s work from this period is often more painterly and without a focus on a single dominant element that was typified in his earlier pieces. In Snow in September, Jackson treats the cloudy sky, distant mountains, and swaying foliage with equal attention. Rather than focusing on a singular element, the composition emphasizes the movement shared among the elements. The bending foliage echoes the twisting snow, creating a harmonious rhythm that enlivens and animates what is otherwise a quiet and sparse scene.
