Alfred Joseph Casson

Lot # 111 Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Casson CGP CSPWC G7 POSA PRCA 1898 - 1992 Canadian Village in the Rock Country oil on canvas signed and on verso signed titled and dated 1966 on a label, titled and dated 1966 23 x 32 in 58.4 x 81.3cm Provenance: Roberts Gallery, Toronto Acquired from the above by Mr. Ameen Aboud By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario A.J. Casson joined the Group of Seven in 1926, but, as the youngest member, knew he had to forge his own identity amongst them. Acknowledging the fact that A.Y. Jackson had mastered the Quebec village, Casson turned his hand to the Ontario village - and these works have contributed vitally to Casson's stature within the Group and Canadian art history. Casson was an inveterate traveler who loved to drive to remote spots in his Willys Whippet car. He sought to capture the effects of light and shade on the landscape, but also wanted to record the architecture and atmosphere of these remote villages. This magnificent work combines two of Casson's great strengths; his ability to bring an almost spiritual presence to the stark forms of a Northern Ontario village and his sophisticated handling of the massive Precambrian rock forms surrounding Ontario's lakes. The scene is devoid of human activity, yet this somehow increases one's sense of the human presence within the village. Art historian Paul Duval felt that, in this regard, Casson's work had its parallel in the work of the well-known American artist Edward Hopper. Estimate: $90,000 ~ $120,000 CAD Preview at: Heffel Fine Art Auction House Vancouver

Description: ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON (CANADIAN, 1898-1992) A.J. CASSON/ A TRIBUTE; LARGE LEATHER BOUND LIMITED EDITION BOOK WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF WORKS UP UNTIL 1980. TOGETHER WITH EMBOSSED PRINT - 50/150, SIGNED BY A.J. CASSON AND P. DUVAL AND A COLOUR LITHOGRAPH; SIGNED AND NUMBERED 50/150 IN PENCIL - Image, 11.5" x 13.5" (Book size, 16" x 21") Published by M.B. Loates, Toronto, 1980. Note: Comes with original packing box

Casson, A.J. CGP, CSPWC, POSA, PRCA (1898 - 1992 ) APPROACHING STORM, LAKE SUPERIOR A photolithograph of Lake Superior from the shoreline. Inscribed along bottom, '1898 in celebration of A.J. Casson 100th Anniversary 1998.' Signed by Casson bottom right. Edition 28/100. Certificate of Authenticity on verso stating, 'This is to certify that the fine art lithograph in the Studio Collection has been carefully reproduced from an original work by A.J. Casson.' Matted and framed. Part of the Group of Seven Commemorative Anniversary Suite, consisting of important watercolours by A.J Casson. The edition was approved and initialed by Casson to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first Group of Seven exhibition in May 1920.

Lot # 114 Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Casson CGP CSPWC G7 POSA PRCA 1898 - 1992 Canadian The Anglican Church at Magnetawan oil on board circa 1932 signed and on verso titled 9 3/8 x 11 1/4 in 23.8 x 28.6cm Provenance: Acquired directly from the Artist, circa 1932 By descent to the present Private Collection, Toronto Literature: Paul Duval, A.J. Casson, Roberts Gallery, 1975, the 1933 canvas entitled Anglican Church at Magnetawan reproduced page 77 Margaret Gray, Margaret Rand and Lois Steen, a.j. casson, canadian artists 1, 1976, the 1933 canvas entitled Anglican Church at Magnetewan reproduced on the cover Charles C. Hill and Pierre B. Landry, editors, Catalogue of the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Art, Volume One / A - F, 1988, the 1933 canvas entitled Anglican Church at Magnetawan reproduced page 182, catalogue #4270 A.J. Casson's visual chronicles of the village life in rural Ontario tell us much about its history. But in addition to capturing the likenesses of these out-of-the-way places, he painted farmyards, churchyards and shop fronts with a human dignity, as if they were portraits of buildings, so that each scene is filled with the character and personality unique to that farm, that church, on that particular day. But rather than an idyll, Casson's village and church scenes give us something more. Shaped by his immaculate sense of design, his mastery of colour and his dramatic use of light and mood, his houses have an almost anthropomorphic presence. They have a particular mood and feeling, and sit upon the land in a certain way, as if aware of their architectural solidity and their colour and design harmony with the landscape that surrounds them. It was this richness of landscape and the pleasing forms of the town's buildings that so appealed to Casson, and inspired him to paint the area near Magnetawan. This superb painting was acquired by the consignor's family directly from the artist. Casson knew the consignor's great-great-aunt, and would visit her at her family cottage on Ahmic Lake. Magnetawan is a charming village located at the mouth of the river that leads southwest into Ahmic Lake; it sits beside the river in the rolling exposed-granite country of the Canadian Shield. This area was particularly inspirational for Casson - he painted some of his finest works there, including the related 1933 masterpiece canvas Anglican Church at Magnetawan, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. This exquisite work depicts the same church as the National Gallery's masterpiece, but painted from the other side and across an expanse of sunlit water under a cloudy sky. Casson was a master of dramatic effects of light and mood, accomplished through simple, yet highly effective artistic devices. The angle of the shadows on the church's whitewashed walls, the shadows at the edges of the rocks in the water and the difference in the shades of blue he uses in that water, all serve to convey to us the exact kind of weather he was painting that day. The treatment of the whole scene employs a lovely combination of geometric and energetic shapes, using an almost cubist treatment of the landscape, rocks and architectural planes of the buildings. Casson began experimenting in the 1930s, using geometric shapes more and more often in his work and refining his forms, focusing on planes and angles and defining them through direct, almost ecclesiastic light. Moody and alive, The Anglican Church at Magnetawan is a very compelling work and ranks among his best oil sketches.

LOT 15 ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON, O.S.A., P.R.C.A. COUNTRY CHURCH, oil on board, signed 12" x 15"; 30 cm x 37.5 cm Auction Estimate: $30000 / $40000 Provenance: Roberts Gallery, Toronto. Private Collection, Ontario. In 1955, Casson returned again to his geometric style of the late 1940s which included a kind of exploded symmetry. Planes are marshalled one against the other across the painting’’’’s surface to form a staccato pattern. This painting is a model of economy, achieving its dramatic impact with a restricted palette of green and white.