Lot 74: FREDERICK SIMPSON COBURN, R.C.A., HAULING LOGS, WINTER, oil on canvas

FREDERICK SIMPSON COBURN, R.C.A.HAULING LOGS, WINTERoil on canvassigned and dated '43 18.25 ins x 28.25 ins; 46.4 cms x 71.8 cms Provenance:Private Collection, VancouverFrederick Coburn (1871-1960) began painting what have become his signature winter landscapes, so different to what he had been producing only a few years earlier, after a revelatory experience circa 1910. Coburn had been gazing out his window at the wintry fields that surrounded his Melbourne, Quebec studio when a team of horses appeared along the road hauling a load of logs, a familiar enough sight in Quebec at the turn of the century. However, the subject struck him as the perfect embodiment of life in rural Quebec: an acceptance of hard physical labour, a reliance on what the land could provide for sustenance, and an acceptance - even celebration -of the winter season. The popularity of these timeless winter scenes incentivized Coburn to revisit the subject frequently for decades often varying the colour of the team of horses, the load, or the direction of the sleigh's movement as the composition demanded.Estimate: $9,000-12,000