Macdonald, J.E.H. (1911) - By the River, (Early Spring) [Oil on canvas] ©Government of Ontario Art Collection, Archives of Ontario
Timber-drives on the upper Humber River supplied the sawmills at Lampton Mills during the late 18th and 19th centuries and continued into the early years of the 20th century before being impeded by the building of dams across the river. In the artist’s description of the painting he says, “There is no attempt to represent a conventional beauty of landscape. The idea is rather to convey a sense of the awkward strength and motion of nature after the comparative quiescence of winter.” The work was purchased from the Ontario Society of Artist’s annual exhibition in 1911.
Macdonald later became a member of the Group of Seven.