Alexander Young Gould

Lot # 113 Alexander Young (A.Y.) Jackson ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 - 1974 Canadian Snow on Spruce Trees / Countryside in Winter (verso) double-sided oil on panel circa 1914 signed and on verso signed and titled 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in 21.6 x 26.7cm Provenance: The PSBGM Cultural Heritage Foundation Literature: Jeremy Adamson, Lawren Harris: Urban Scenes and Wilderness Landscapes, 1906 - 1930, 1978, page 54 Walter Klinkhoff, A.Y. Jackson Retrospective Exhibition, Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., 1990, listed, unpaginated Exhibited: Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal, A.Y. Jackson Retrospective Exhibition, September 10 - 22, 1990, catalogue #1 A.Y. Jackson's lusciously painted Snow on Spruce Trees is reminiscent of Lawren Harris's exquisite northern wilderness deep-woods snow scenes executed from 1914 to 1918. Harris had seen a pivotal exhibition of modern Scandinavian northern landscapes at the Albright Gallery in Buffalo in 1913, and been greatly impressed, particularly by Gustav Fjaestad's stunning scenes of snow and frost-covered trees. This vigorous and raw approach to the land was a hot topic among the future Group of Seven members, who were in close contact through the Arts and Letters Club and the Studio Building in Toronto - Jackson having moved into the Studio Building in 1914. The North beckoned both Harris and Jackson, particularly Algonquin Park in that decade, and in 1914 Jackson took two trips to Algonquin Park, joining Tom Thomson in the fall. The response of Group painters to the beauty of the North in winter produced iconic works, and Snow on Spruce Trees is a splendid example. Jackson's approach is vigorous, with thick brush-strokes creating an almost abstract pattern of snow-laden branches, in a surprisingly bold and modern treatment. It is interesting to compare this lot to lot 158 by Lawren Harris. Jackson and Harris often worked together, even sitting side by side to sketch at times. By 1914, Jackson would have seen the earliest of Harris's fine winter works, such as Morning Sun, Winter, now in a private collection, which was painted in the Studio Building in January and February of 1914. Also, Harris exhibited one of his earliest winter landscapes at the November 1914 Royal Canadian Academy exhibition, Winter Morning, dated 1914, now in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada. Perhaps inspired by Morning Sun, Winter, and no doubt encouraged by Thomson's descriptions of the park, Jackson ventured to Algonquin Park alone in February of 1914, arriving in 45 degree below zero weather and, in a letter to J.E.H. MacDonald, wrote that he "found it just as Lawren had said, you don't notice the cold one bit, all you notice is your breath dropping down and splintering on the scintillating ground."

Lot # 112 Alexander Young (A.Y.) Jackson ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 - 1974 Canadian Saint-Hilarion, Quebec oil on board circa 1926 signed and on verso signed and titled St. Hilarion, Quebec 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in 21.6 x 26.7cm Provenance: Acquired directly from the Artist By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia Literature: Naomi Jackson Groves, A.Y.'s Canada, 1968, page 74, a circa 1933 graphite drawing of this scene entitled St. Hilarion, County Charlevoix, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, reproduced page 75 Pierre B. Landry, editor, Catalogue of the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Art, Volume Two / G - K, National Gallery of Canada, 1994, a similar 1926 oil sketch entitled Saint-Hilarion reproduced page 199, the 1930 canvas of the town entitled The Road to Saint-Hilarion and the 1930 graphite drawing Sketch for The Road to Saint-Hilarion reproduced page 237 In 1921, Group of Seven painter A.Y. Jackson began his legendary trips to the villages and rural countryside of the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence River, which continued throughout the 1920s and 1930s. There were two documented sketching sojourns in this charming town, in 1925 and 1933, although other Saint-Hilarion works in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada suggest additional dates of 1926 and 1930. Saint-Hilarion is located on the inland road from Baie-Saint-Paul to La Malbaie, and Jackson described it as being "like one of the Italian hill towns; the country around is cleared of trees, and the town stands on the top of the hill." This is a classic, beautiful Jackson Quebec scene depicting a peaceful village with the church at its heart, at the end of a winding road bordered by a snake-fence. Jackson treasured this time before modernization, when people still used horses and sleighs for transportation. Melting snow is depicted with luscious pastel tones and the village basks serenely in the sun under a glorious blue sky with floating clouds. Estimate: $35,000 ~ $45,000 CAD Preview at: Heffel Fine Art Auction House Vancouver

Lot # 106 Alexander Young (A.Y.) Jackson ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 - 1974 Canadian Saint-Hilarion, Quebec oil on board circa 1926 signed and on verso signed and titled St. Hilarion, Quebec 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in 21.6 x 26.7cm Provenance: Acquired directly from the Artist By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia Literature: Naomi Jackson Groves, A.Y.'s Canada, 1968, page 74, a circa 1933 graphite drawing of this scene entitled St. Hilarion, County Charlevoix, in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada, reproduced page 75 Pierre B. Landry, editor, Catalogue of the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Art, Volume Two / G - K, National Gallery of Canada, 1994, a similar 1926 oil sketch entitled Saint-Hilarion reproduced page 199, the 1930 canvas of the town entitled The Road to Saint-Hilarion and the 1930 graphite drawing Sketch for The Road to Saint-Hilarion reproduced page 237 In 1921, Group of Seven painter A.Y. Jackson began his legendary trips to the villages and rural countryside of the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence River, which continued throughout the 1920s and 1930s. There were two documented sketching sojourns in this charming town, in 1925 and 1933, although other Saint-Hilarion works in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada suggest additional dates of 1926 and 1930. Saint-Hilarion is located on the inland road from Baie-Saint-Paul to La Malbaie, and Jackson described it as being "like one of the Italian hill towns; the country around is cleared of trees, and the town stands on the top of the hill." This is a classic, beautiful Jackson Quebec scene depicting a peaceful village with the church at its heart, at the end of a winding road bordered by a snake-fence. Jackson treasured this time before modernization, when people still used horses and sleighs for transportation. Melting snow is depicted with luscious pastel tones and the village basks serenely in the sun under a glorious blue sky with floating clouds.

Alexander Young Jackson (1882-1974) St. Lawrence, Early Spring signed 'AY JACKSON' (lower right); titled, signed again and inscribed 'ST. LAWRENCE, EARLY SPRING., A.Y. JACKSON, STUDIO BLDG. SEVERN ST. TORONTO' (on a paper label affixed to the reverse of the frame) oil on canvas 25 3/4 x 36 1/2in. (66.5 x 92.5cm) PROVENANCE Private Collection (acquired from the artist's studio). By descent from the above to the present owner. Capturing the majestic expanse and grandeur of the untamed Canadian wilderness, the works of Alexander Young Jackson (1882-1974) translate the movement and visual play of Impressionism with that of a new subject: the North American continent. Inspired by the frontier-esque atmosphere, Jackson and a select group of Canadian painters founded the Group of Seven. This artist collective strived to establish a Canadian School of painting that not only built on the practices of its counterparts across the Atlantic, but more so evoked a national painterly style and expression that celebrated the wild and untamed. Having trained in Paris, Jackson's familiarity with the momentary and transient effects of light and nature are thus readily seen in the work St. Lawrence, Early Spring . Influenced particularly by Pissarro and Sisley, Jackson paints without hesitation and captures the crispness that surrounds the rolling hills, billowing grass, and glittering snow of the Canadian countryside. This modern take on the landscape tradition teems with the emotion and mystery of the unknown, coupling color and light with atmospheric presence and a sense of immediacy. One of Jackson's painterly talents was that of expressing the emotive harsh realities of nature, and with the onset of World War I, he served as an official war artist, painting the fragile condition of humanity. After the war, he continued to teach and paint, playing an influential role in the modern art scene throughout Toronto and Montreal. His legacy, seen in St. Lawrence, Early Spring , is that of expressive honesty and respect for one's cultural milieu and in effect the perspective it imparts upon each of us. "The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity" – Walt Whitman

Lot # 121 Alexander Young (A.Y.) Jackson ALC CGP G7 OSA RCA RSA 1882 - 1974 Canadian Barren Lands ink and collage on paper circa 1942 signed and on verso titled 3 3/4 x 5 3/4 in 9.5 x 14.6cm Provenance: Private Collection, Ontario Inscription on verso: "Illustration for the St. Lawrence, Rivers of America / not used / To Bea and Jack and the family, from Alex. This is an original drawing for a book, but not used." Estimate: $1,800 ~ $2,400 CAD Preview at: Heffel Fine Art Inc. Toronto