FRANZ JOHNSTON
LOT DETAILS
"Untitled: Rowan Berries and Foliage", signed lower left, oil on panel laid down to pine backboard, the panel measures 30.5 x 12.1cm (12 x 4 3/4in), backboard 33.7 x 19.4cm (13 1/4 x 7 5/8in); verso is a handwritten note from Johnston "To Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Breard, glad to see you look", signed and dated May 6, (19)49; Provenance: private Ontario collection
Frank (Franz) Hans Johnston, Canadian, 1888-1949; educated at the Givins Street School, Toronto, as well the Central Technical School under Gustav Hahn, and the Central Ontario School of Art under William Cruikshank and G.A. Reid; in 1918, he was commissioned by the Canadian War Memorials to record the activities of Canadian flying personal training for overseas duty; Johnston was a founding member of the Group of Seven in 1920, exhibiting in many of their early exhibitions, leaving the Group shortly after in 1922; he continued to paint over the next 27 years, developing his own unique realist style and was highly skilled with both light and shadows; this is quite a unique work by the artist with beautiful art deco colours and design