FRANZ JOHNSTON

Titled "Early in Spring", signed lower left, oil on board, 40.6 x 50.8cm (16 x 20in); Provenance: artist's studio label verso; from a private Ontario collection; Frank (Franz) Hans Johnston, Canadian, 1888-1949; educated at the Givins Street School, Toronto, as well the Central Technical School under Gustav Hahn, and the Central Ontario School of Art under William Cruikshank and G.A. Reid; in 1918, he was commissioned by the Canadian War Memorials to record the activities of Canadian flying personal training for overseas duty

Johnston was a founding member of the Group of Seven in 1920, exhibiting in many of their early exhibitions, leaving the Group shortly after in 1922; Johnston continued to paint over the next 27 years, developing his own unique realist style and was highly skilled with both light and shadows; this special work showcases one of the rarer subjects for Johnston, depicting a horse and carriage with father and son riding along a dirt pathway, with house and trees in the distance; likely in painted in Quebec circa 1930's; condition report available on request