Lot 54: ALBERT HENRY ROBINSON 1881 - 1956

ALBERT HENRY ROBINSON 1881 - 1956 QUEBEC VILLAGE IN WINTER signed lower left Albert Robinson ; inscribed L. Harris, #3 on a label in pencil on the reverse oil on board 28.6 by 33.0 cm. 11 ¼ by 13 in.

Private Collection, Toronto

Although he painted together with Jackson, whom he met in 1910, Albert Henry Robinson was never professionally connected with the Group of Seven. While they were invested in an expressive and somewhat nationalistic representation of the Canadian landscape, Robinson concerned himself with the rhythm of civilization. By contrast, his sketches are relatively flat in design, constructed out of careful forms of colour stacked one on top of the other, and always compositionally strong.

The lyricism for which Robinson is best known is evident in this panel. The work is decisively painted and handled in a bold manner with intense bursts of colour throughout the village. The broad and signature use of teal and mauve is interrupted here by rich hues of magenta, cobalt, orange and kelly green that create a loose and moving scene. Interestingly, this attention to the middle ground draws attention away from the horse and sleigh in the foreground.

Robinson excelled when painting villages tucked into the rolling hills and snow and his village scenery always shows an air of contentment and expresses warmth and happiness.