Lot 1: CHARLES FRASER COMFORT, O.S.A., P.R.C.A., WHITMAN MONUMENT (BON ECHO ROCK, MAZINAW LAKE), oil on panel, 12 ins x 16 ins; 30.5 cms x 40.6 cms

CHARLES FRASER COMFORT, O.S.A., P.R.C.A.WHITMAN MONUMENT (BON ECHO ROCK, MAZINAW LAKE)oil on panelsigned; titled on the reverse 12 ins x 16 ins; 30.5 cms x 40.6 cms Provenance:Private Collection, OntarioLiterature:Mary Jo Hughes, Take Comfort – the Career of Charles Comfort, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, 2007, pages 20-27. Note:Bon Echo Rock has been an inspiration to many Canadian painters. Lismer, Jackson and Casson have all painted the impressive rock face located on the eastern side of North Mazinaw. The name Mazinaw has been anglicized from the Algonquin phrase for “painted image lake” referring to the pictographs found on the rock formation. Comfort’s contribution to Canadian art and culture is significant. An accomplished artist, he was also an acclaimed teacher, writer, and arts administrator. From 1959-1965, Comfort was Director of the National Gallery of Canada, and shortly after was made Officer of the Order of Canada for his extensive involvement in arts administration and lifelong belief of the importance of art integrated within society. The title of this lot refers to a memorial inscribed on the face of the rock: “Old Walt 1819-1919 / Dedicated to the democratic ideals of Walt Whitman.”Estimate: $3,000–4,000