A.J. Casson
1898-1992

October, Lake Superior, 1928

"To me, this watercolour represents the most satisfying of a number I did on a memorable sketching trip to Lake Superior. My companions on this venture were Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, and Alec Jackson. It was the first time I had ever seen such rugged, majestic scenery and I was overwhelmed by it.

We camped for two weeks near Port Coldwell, which was nothing more than a tiny fishing community of five homes and an ice-house. Getting to Port Coldwell was an adventure in itself. We took the train from Toronto, through Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. The problem was that, heading west, the train could not stop in Port Coldwell because there was a steep grade at that point. This, however, did not deter Lawren Harris. He negotiated with the conductor, some money changed hands, and the train slowed down to twenty-five miles an hour at a spot Lawren Harris picked out. Our equipment and supplies were thrown out of the baggage car and, at the appropriate moment, we jumped after them. Fortunately, Lawren had chosen a spot with a soft gravel embankment. A master of planning, Lawren had arranged for some section hands with a jigger to meet us there. We loaded our equipment onto the jigger and were transported four miles further west. We then proceeded about a third of a mile into the bush and set up camp. We chose a spot with a large number of spruce trees to act as a windbreak. The lovely, contoured hills and stand of silvery white trees depicted in this painting hold a great appeal for me and looking at them now reminds me of how young and tough one had to be to survive and share the north country with them."

A.J. Casson
Source: Book titled “My Favourite Watercolours 1919 to 1957”
Published by Cerebrus/Prentice Hall