PROVENANCE
Roberts Gallery, Toronto, 1965
Private Collection, Victoria
Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 17, 2011, lot 167
The Collection of Torben V. Kristiansen, Vancouver

In this lively painting of J.E.H. MacDonald’s beloved Thornhill area, we see a tranquil view of a church set in a meadow amongst billowing trees under a cloud-filled sky. MacDonald had purchased a property in Thornhill in 1912. He was very fond of it and named it Four Elms as homage to the stately trees that grew there. MacDonald sketched and painted his property as well as the areas nearby regularly, and he opened his home to fellow artists and hosted parties there. At one point, when his finances were low, he was pressed into renting the property for income; the only stipulation was that it would be let to these same fellow painters. As a result, Thornhill is a place name attached to many sketches and tranquil vistas painted by members of the Group of Seven. By 1931, the year this work was executed, MacDonald had been living back at Thornhill steadily since 1925. On the verso of our painting, MacDonald’s son, Thoreau, notes that it is “a top quality sketch.” Torben V. Kristiansen was an astute collector of MacDonald’s work and pursuer of such top-quality works.

For the biography on Torben V. Kristiansen in PDF format, please click here.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars