Bedard Pond

Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Casson
  • Date: 1960
  • Medium: oil on masonite
  • Dimensions: 75 x 89.5 cm
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Moore, London, Ontario, through the Ontario Heritage Foundation, 1978
  • Permanent Collection ID: 78.A.49

Bedard Pond

Alfred Joseph (A.J.) Casson

The youngest member of the Group of Seven, A.J. Casson had recently retired from the commercial design firm Sampson-Matthews when he completed Bedard Pond. He was now painting full-time and continuing his sketching trips around Ontario in search of inspiring landscapes and towns.

In Bedard Pond, Casson finds pattern and geometric shapes within a peaceful natural scene. His mature style is pared down and likely influenced by his many years in commercial design. Here, angular clouds also recall the abstracted icebergs and mountains of Lawren Harris’s northern paintings. With few brushstrokes, Casson skillfully suggests trees rather than detail them. He also evokes the technique of watercolour wash through his muted palette and application of thin layers of oil paint.

By age 62, Casson had accomplished much in his lifetime. He had helped found both the Canadian Society Painters in Water Colour (1925) and the Canadian Group of Painters (1933). Beginning in 1943, in his post as art director and vice-president of Sampson-Matthews, he also supervised the reproduction of numerous Canadian artworks through serigraphy. These prints were distributed as morale-boosters at Canadian military bases and administrative offices during the Second World War. After the war, they were distributed widely across Canada, building a broader awareness and appreciation of Canadian art.