James Edward Hervey MacDonald 1873 - 1932

Private Collection, Toronto

Paul Duval, The Tangled Garden, The Art of J.E.H. MacDonald, Toronto, 1978, p. 4. For other images of Thomson's Rapids see Thomson's Rapids, Magnetawan River, 1912 and Song of the Rapids, 1913 both illustrated in colour, pp. 32 and 33

Nancy E. Robertson, J.E.H. Macdonald, R.C.A., 1873-1932, Art Gallery of Toronto, 1965, p. 10

This work has been viewed under UV and it is in pristine condition. We would like to thank "In Restauro Conservart Inc." for examing this painting and their original notes are available upon request to Sotheby's.
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Most of MacDonald's works up until 1911 were clearly influenced by the English tradition. This changed quickly after he met Lawren Harris and took the first of several trips to Burks Falls where the Magnetawan River runs through the town towards Georgian Bay.

MacDonald painted the Rapids several times and, in reference to these works, Duval notes that "they vibrate with crisp, stabbing brush strokes that trace the foaming passage of the rapids. No other Canadian painter, even Maurice Cullen, captured the movement of water in as compelling a manner as did MacDonald."

MacDonald first came to the Magnetawan River to paint in 1909 with encouragement from J.W. Beatty and A.Y. Jackson. In his early paintings here, he used a relatively low colour key with controlled brushwork, but by the time he painted this fine sketch, he had adopted an independent style that was loose, confident and free. Nancy Robertson describes this process: "Gradually with expanding views, the tight brushwork gave way to more spontaneous movement and the dry-textured paint was replaced by fatter, more pliable pigment".

The result is an articulate study that renders movement of water brilliantly.