Provenance:

Acquired directly from the artist.
Alfred E. Crowley, Montreal.
By descent to the present owner, Ontario.

Literature:

John A.B. McLeish, September Gale: A Study of Arthur Lismer and the Group of Seven, Toronto/Vancouver, 1955, pages 185-187.

Note:

While discussing Arthur Lismer’s depictions of the Canadian West Coast, McLeish notes that, “in spite of the noble landscapes and the unimaginable blues of the great Pacific coast, it was in the purest sense for Lismer an unhuman land: ‘This is a country that has never been tamed by man,’ he once remarked. ‘It only puts up with man; man has no governance here.’ In such a mood of mingled awe and amazement at the beauty and imperious mastery of the Pacific country, Lismer would set off into the nearest heart of the wilderness, and oblivious to summer heat and the sting and nuisance of black flies and mosquitos, paint purposefully and forcefully among the cathedral dimensions of the firs and among the indefatigable thrustings of what he called ‘the northern jungle growth’ of British Columbia.”

The largest distributor of artist supplies in Canada during the 1930s, C.R. Crowley Limited served the artistic community across the country for generations, the family’s involvement in the industry beginning during the 1880s. The firm imported materials of the highest quality from around the world and shipped orders to artists and art professionals nationally and internationally. This service to the community led to the family’s association and friendship with numerous noted twentieth century Canadian artists, including members of the Group of Seven. The family recalls that “Forest Interior” was acquired from Lismer in return for art supplies, the transaction believed to have taken place during the early 1950s.