Inscription on back: "Nicolet was commissioned to do a series of western scenes for Canada House NY, by the NY Canadian Club. This was a preliminary work done for submission to Canadian Club jurors prior to undertaking his final commission."
This piece was sketched from a CPR train window, January 1964, while the artist was enroute from Brandon to Winnipeg through the Carberry sandhills. It was a hazy morning when land and sky seemed to blend with sun showing through cloud in places. Steve Repa was employed by the Brandon Allied Arts Centre (1962-1964). He commuted to Winnipeg one day weekly to teach (1963-1964) (Bu Art Catalogue, 1983)
Dimensions
57 x 87 cm
Size Overall
72 x 102 cm
Medium
oil
Condition
some accretion in middle R area. Canvas fairly loose on the stretcher (June 1996)
Mrs. Butuk, resident of Medicine Hat and Eatonia, Saskatchewan, held an exhibition at Brandon College, 1966, mainly of oil paintings of prairie and South Saskatchewan River Valley scenes. (BU Art Catalogue, 1983) Some mountain scenes from study at Banff School.
"Beardy's brilliant application of color is drawn from his dreams. The geography of his paintings is a blend of the visible universe and the invisible powers that animate the visible, and give it life and meaning. The time in which the works are set is mythological time, before history. The paintings are not separate from the major themes of Jackson's life and in fact parallel his own growth and spiritual development. They dealt not only with the mysteries of matter but also with those of creation and life; they sought to harmonize the human individual with the universe, Jackson's alchemy is performed between two socio-political worlds. He struggled to be effective and to balance his own life between two powerful unseen Manitou forces." (Colleen Cutschall, p. 22)