Lot 187: Franklin Carmichael 1890 - 1945 Canadian

Franklin Carmichael 1890 - 1945 Canadian watercolour on paper La Cloche Hills 10 1/2 x 13 inches 26.7 x 33 centimeters signed and dated indistinctly 1925 or 1935 Literature:Megan Bice and Mary Carmichael Mastin, Light and Shadow: The Work of Franklin Carmichael, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1990, page 106 Provenance:Roberts Gallery, Toronto Private Estate, Toronto Franklin Carmichael first viewed this area from Tower Hill in the North Range of La Cloche, and found it irresistable. Mary Mastin writes: "Here were the elements of height, distance, light and solitude he had been seeking, and his immediate rapport with La Cloche was to endure from the early 1920s to the time of his death in 1945." Hilltops scoured by glaciers, sparkling quartzite rock, forests, and many lakes and streams made it visually stunning. It became such an important painting place for him that he built a log cabin at Cranberry Lake in 1935. Carmichael's mastery of watercolour was well known - he and fellow Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson along with Fred Brigden formed the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour in 1925, and Carmichael was passionate in his promotion of this medium. La Cloche Hills is full of light and fresh pastel colours, from pink to blue and peridot green, contrasted by the smokey darker blue of the distant peak. With its expansive view and clear atmosphere, it is a stunning example of his La Cloche watercolours.