Provenance

Heffel Auction, May 2008

Private collection, Toronto

Group of Seven painter A.Y. Jackson was an avid traveler and explorer, and his sketching trips ranged across Canada and north to the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. His first trip to Port Radium on Great Bear Lake was in 1938, when Eldorado Mine owner Gilbert LaBine arranged for him to fly there on the company plane. During the flight Jackson was struck by the profusion of small lakes around Great Bear Lake, formed by the retreat of the polar ice cap 10,000 years before. Great Bear Lake, surrounded by a rich tapestry of rocks, small trees and low vegetation, glowing with rich earthy tones, drew Jackson back for two more sketching adventures, in 1949 and 1950.