The low horizon identifies this sketch as another weather observation. The bold brushwork is also reminiscent of the other work from that last spring of 1917. There is a story to be revealed cleverly hidden in the clouds. The provenance of this painting is also fascinating. Please read on.
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| Canoe Lake Spring 1917 Oil on board 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (21.6 x 26.7 cm) Tom's paint box size |
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| The shore and islands of Canoe Lake as viewed from the southern point of Hayhurst Point in various Thomson paintings |
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| Thomson's location and view superimposed on a Canoe Lake Map from 1921. The location of the remains of Mowat Lodge that Thomson knew is clearly identified. Mowat Lodge burned to the ground in 1920. |
With location confidently established, the points of the compass are readily available to apply to the other clues to be found within the energetic brushwork. The details of that analysis may be found in the following graphic. 
Apparently, Thomson made himself that sketch box in 1914 to hold his classic 8½ × 10½ inch (21.6 × 26.7 cm) panels. The lower half of the box served as a palette, while the upper half served as a support for canvas or wood panels. That is the paint box that I include in these posts to illustrate what it must have been like to be a plein air painter.
A remark relative to this painting is that Walter Klinkhoff bought four sketches by Thomson from Terrence McCormack, Vestal, New York. This may be one of them.
Winnie treasured Tom's sketches that were not signed and not defaced by the well-intentioned but damaging TT-Estate Stamp. The paint-box-sized sketches were "usually kept wrapped in newspaper and stuffed in a six-quart basket". As Roy wrote in 2005:
With the location and the cloud types established, there are two possibilities for Thomson's location within the weatherscape (yes, I am making that word up). Those locations are identified by the yellow stars labelled 1 and 2 in the following graphic.
Was Tom at location 1 or 2 in relation to the low-pressure area and the fronts? The wind would have a west-to-east location at both locations relative to the low-pressure centre, the red "L" in the graphic. The westerly component of the wind was consistent with the shape of the cumulus in Tom's weather observation. The wind was clearly blowing from the right to the left in Tom's weather observation. Tom was looking southward so the wind had a westerly component.
Location 1 would also have the wind blowing into Tom's face and perhaps trying to push the ice sheet into the shoreline of the point of land. Location 2 would have Tom protected from the northwest wind by the higher terrain of Hayhurst Point. The wind on his back-right shoulder would tend to move the ice away from the point as Tom observed.
Option 2 would be the more pleasant plein air experience but it is impossible to really know for certain. The ice pack on Canoe Lake still looked very extensive. The early spring runoff from Potter and Joe Creeks and the southerly shoreline exposure could explain the open water at the point. The positioning of the ice sheet does not necessarily require prolonged exposure to a particular wind direction and is certainly influenced by currents as well.
If I was going to guess, I would certainly pick Option 2. The cumulus in Option 1 would be more likely to be precipitating with the added lift found near the warm front. The clouds as painted reveal no evidence of virga. The clouds at Option 2 would be under descending air behind the cold front. The cloud bases would be shaped by cold air advecting over the rugged terrain of the Algonquin landscape.
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| Canoe Lake Spring 1917 as it would have appeared in Thomson's Paint Box |
There is no mention of any inscriptions for "Canoe Lake Spring 1917". I wonder what the back of this painting really looks like?
Provenance:
- Winifred Trainor, Huntsville Estate of Winifred Trainor?;
- Terrence McCormack, Vestal, N.Y.
- Galerie de Walter Klinkhoff, Montreal?
- Masters Gallery, Calgary, 1981?
- Private Collection, Calgary
Note the spelling within the above provenance should be McCormick, not McCormack.
My friend Roy MacGregor tells the more complete back-story behind the provenance of about thirteen paintings that were once owned by Winnie Trainor. Roy knows the Thomson story like no one else! His grandfather’s brother, Roy McCormick married Marie Trainor, Winnie’s younger sister. Yes, Winnie Trainor was the sister of Roy’s great-aunt. They were family. Winnie lived nearby the MacGregors in Huntsville when Roy was growing up and playing hockey with Bobby Orr. Roy's grandfather, Algonquin Park Chief Ranger Tom McCormick, even knew Tom Thomson, but I digress already that is another story. May I recommend you read any of the books by Roy MacGregor if you are a fan of Canada.
In a Globe and Mail article published on June 1st, 2005 and titled "That six-quart basket held $4.8-million worth of Tom Thomson's art", Roy relates that Tom and Winnie were indeed engaged and the honeymoon cabin at Billy Bear Lodge had been already booked in the late spring of 1917. Theirs was a tragic story of lost love - a lifetime of opportunities and happiness that would never be fulfilled or enjoyed. I won’t venture into that heart-breaking sadness but Winnie did possess those thirteen or so original Thomson paintings before Tom passed on July 8th, 1917.
"Whenever she travelled, she would cart the paintings -- we think there were 13 of them -- across the street and hand them to another town spinster, Addie Sylvester, the local night telephone operator who lived with about three dozen cats.
Addie would stash the Tom Thomson originals back of her wood stove until Winnie returned and remembered to go and collect them."
Roy relates that "when Winnifred Trainor died in the summer of 1962 - a cousin (Terence McCormick was Roy's mother Helen’s first cousin and his second cousin.) inherited her property, including the paintings -- she had not even allowed herself the luxury of hot running water."
In 2005, that six-quart basket had held $4.8 million worth of Tom Thomson art. In 2023, the price for that basket would be closer to $20 million and that number might be too low. If you think that price is ridiculous or maybe even insanely high, consider Tom Thomson's "Nocturne" with an auction estimate of $900,000.00 - $1,200,000.00 that sold for $1.5 million on June 15th, 2022.
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| Tom Thomson's "Ragged Oaks, 1916" |
In any case, “Canoe Lake Spring 1917” was almost certainly one of the thirteen carried around in that six-quart basket. I always lament for artists who could have used just a fraction of those funds to purchase art supplies and maybe even food. Tom never saw a penny of that cash. As Tom wrote to his patron Dr. John MacCallum on October 6th, 1914:
"If I could only get $10 or $15 for it, I would be greatly pleased -- but if they don't intend to put in so much, let it go for what they will give."
That $15 price tag for a Thomson in 1914 bucks equates to about $450 cash in today's dollars. The painting is now worth $1.5 million. You do the math on the value of investing in art... I know several terrific artists who would gladly get you started on a path to increase your portfolio of valuable assets that you can even enjoy on your wall.
Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,
Phil Chadwick
PS: Tom Thomson Was A Weatherman - Summary As of Now contains all of the entries to date.
PSS: Thank you to Roy MacGregor for his guidance on this post and the high-quality image of Winnie.
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