Private collection, Toronto

Lawren Harris first visited Algoma in the spring of 1918 with Dr. James MacCallum and the two returned with Frank Johnston and MacDonald that September. An exhibition of the resultant oil sketches and canvases was held at the Art Museum of Toronto from 26 April to 19 May 1919.

Harris, Johnston and MacDonald returned to Algoma from mid‒ September to mid‒October 1919, this time accompanied by A.Y. Jackson. They once again travelled in a boxcar hitched to a train of the Algoma Central Railway. The boxcar would be left on a siding at their request, then picked up on the train’s return trip and dropped off at a new site. This year they travelled to the Agawa Canyon, Canyon, Hubert, the Montreal Falls and Batchawana, making side trips from the railway in a canoe or on a handcar. 

Some of J.E.H. MacDonald’s most important and iconic paintings were inspired by the landscapes of Algoma, north of Sault Sainte Marie. The sketches and canvases resulting from the two trips to the region reflect MacDonald’s deep engagement with the colours, forms and moods of Algoma. Works from these trips represent the artist’s most sought-after pictures and we are very pleased to offer this fine sketch for sale.