AUTUMN, ALGONQUIN PARK stamped with Thomson estate stamp; estate stamped and certified by Fraser Thomson and inscribed "1st class" on the reverse, titled on a gallery label on the reverse oil on panel 22.3 by 27.4 cm. 8 3/4 by 10 3/4 in. Thomson's sketches in and of Algonquin Park during the last five years of his too-short life showed a brilliance and a vitality that astonished and delighted his friends. For artists like Lawren Harris and J.E.H. MacDonald, who had taught Thomson much of what he knew and who encouraged and urged him on, Thomson's work came to embody the spirit of the north they strove to capture. It was this kernel of an idea, later elaborated and embellished, that gave rise to the Group of Seven. The Group was formed in March, 1920, not quite three years after Thomson's death by drowning in 1917; in many respects the formation of the Group was a tribute to Thomson and his exceptional work. Most of Thomson's canvases and sketches are now in public collections, and it is rare that so fine a sketch as Autumn, Algonquin Park is offered at auction. Inscribed on the back of this sketch, possibly by Lawren Harris, who knew Thomson's work best, is "1st class".

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