TORONTO – A 1912 sketch from Group of Seven member J.E.H. MacDonald is heading to the auction block.
“Tracks and Traffic” will be among the works up for sale at Consignor Canadian Fine Art’s fall auction scheduled for Nov. 22.
The resulting canvas based on this sketch was included in the recent Lawren Harris exhibition curated by Steve Martin and showcased at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and is a part of the AGO’s collection.
“Tracks on Traffic” provides a glimpse of what Toronto looked like more than a century ago, depicting a scene from the Harbourfront neighbourhood during the industrial period.
MacDonald and Harris were close friends and the pair often painted together in Toronto. “Tracks and Traffic” was created months after the two artists met in late 1911 and eight years before the Group of Seven was formed.
Harris sketched the scene from another angle, suggesting that the two artists could have been together during the painting expedition.
“Tracks and Traffic” is expected to fetch between $200,000 and $250,000.
Other items up for sale include works from Jock MacDonald, Jean Paul Riopelle, Tom Thomson and Franklin Carmichael and A.J. Casson.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly stated that the sketch was included in the Lawren Harris exhibition.
