Lawren Stewart Harris 1885 - 1970

Private Collection, Ontario

David P. Silcox, The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, Toronto, 2003, p. 299

This painting is in excellent condition. The colours are bright and fresh and true to the catalogue illustration. There is fine craquellure in the heavy impasto of the stream, particularly in the white upper middle and lower left, however, it is contained. There are numerous touch ups along the upper edge of the panel, around the yellow foliage which, within the rock formation and on the left side of the board. This was likely an attempt to cover the exposed board and is entirely removable. We wish to thank "In Restauro Conservart Inc." for examining this work and their original notes are available upon request frokm
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

One could be forgiven for considering this exceptionally fine Algoma picture as an homage to Tom Thomson.  With its swirling pigment, slashing diagonals, rich colours, and the absolute poise and confidence it exudes, it uses many of Thomson's devices, even though Harris has appropriated them as his own.  Harris usually presents himself as austere, distant, and rigid, but in this work, he is passionate and animated as if caught up in a trance of inspiration, just as Thomson had been when he painted his unforgettable panels in Algonquin Park.  Harris had been instrumental in recognizing and nourishing the talent that Thomson had burried within him, and he had then been delighted to learn from the torrent of work Thomson delivered in the few short years of his painting career.

Harris first went to Algoma in May, 1918, shortly after he suffered a nervous breakdown and was given a medical discharge from the army.  He was thirty-three years old.  His trauma had begun with the death of his brother and only sibling in the trenches in Europe in 1917 and was compounded by the death of Tom Thomson later that year.  The serendipitous discovery of the Algoma territory as a place and subject to renew and restart his career as an artist proved to be a vital and lasting tonic.  This remarkable painting shows Harris gathering up the courage and determination to continue his aesthetic explorations, while at the same time paying a moving tribute to an artist whose work he prized highly.