PROVENANCE
The Art Emporium, Vancouver
A.K. Prakash & Associates Inc., Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto

Although other artists who became members of the Group of Seven in 1920 worked with water-based pigments, Frank Johnston was particularly fond of the opaque medium of tempera. He tended to use tempera as a sketching method rather than using oils, as many of his colleagues did. The water-based medium, thicker and more intense than watercolour, allowed him to depict the landscape as he wished. The Depths (Algoma), likely done two years before the first Group of Seven exhibition, is a fine example of Johnston’s skill with the medium.

The unusual title of this image, The Depths, aptly describes the power of the composition. Although Johnston has concentrated on the sunlit field of grass and the foliage of the tree in the foreground, the success of the image relies on his ability to suggest “the depths” of the landscape. The recession of the treed landscape into the distance and Johnston’s striking depiction of the cloudy sky above give the image a strong sense of three-dimensionality. This is further emphasized by his decision to highlight the distant horizon by including a band of light above it.

Notably, the whole composition seems to be buzzing with movement. Through the pattern of the sunlit grass and leafy trees in the foreground and the sweeping cloudscape above, Johnston suggests a landscape animated by the force of the wind. Although the painting is small physically, Johnston’s image strongly suggests the expanse of the landscape and leads our eyes into his chosen view. The work is both elegantly direct and remarkably adept, transcending its basic elements—trees, grass, clouds and a skilfully managed depth of field. The Depths powerfully conveys both the wonder and beauty of the natural world.

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