Lot 40
ALFRED JOSEPH CASSON, O.S.A., P.R.C.A.
Additional Images
Provenance:
Private Collection, Toronto
Literature:
Paul Duval, A.J. Casson: His Life and Works, A Tribute, Cerebrus/Prentice-Hall, Markham, 1980, (page 163).
Note:
Although Casson did not actually retire from full-time employment until 1958, he made his decision to do so the year this work was painted.
It is hard not to see a renewal of the artist’s zeal for plein-air painting in this lush, little sketch, a material celebration of his decision to retire.
While rigorously limiting his palette to greens and greys, there is an undeniable luxuriousness here in the thick foliage-wrapped rocky outcrop and its dramatic reflection at the water’s edge.
Paul Duval notes that “(d)uring the fifties, Casson became more and more involved in his personal creative work.” One cannot help but view this exquisite sketch as an example of a renewed commitment to painting.