ALFRED JOSEPH (A.J.) CASSON

Titled "Rock Study, Espanola", signed lower right, signed verso and dated 1962, oil on board, 30.5 x 38.1cm (12 x 15in); Provenance: Roberts Gallery, Toronto; Victoria Art Gallery, Toronto (1988 receipt included with this lot); present Ontario private family collection; Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Casson, Canadian, 1898-1992; born in Toronto, Casson later studied at the Ontario College of Art under J.W. Beatty beginning in 1918, and in 1919 worked at Rous & Mann Ltd. as a commercial artist; in 1926, Casson joined the famous group of Canadian painters the Group of Seven, and was its youngest member

A.J. Casson's best known works are of the Ontario village and countryside, which this stunning painting depicts in Espanola, Northern Ontario, just southwest of Sudbury; the rock formations, treed landscape and clouds over the horizon are a wonderful example of his work, and in his own highly unique painting style; the artist deliberately sought out and painted certain areas of Ontario to set his work apart from other members of the group; besides the Group of Seven, Casson assisted in the formation of other major Canadian art organizations such as the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, the Canadian Group of Painters and the WWII War Artists Program; he was also Vice President and Art Director for Sampson-Matthews Ltd. for nearly 20 years, and was awarded the Order of Canada in 1979; his paintings can be found in important public and private art collections across the country, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection