Tom Thomson
Canadian (1877-1917)
SKETCH FOR “THE JACK PINE”
c. 1916
oil on wood panel

Painters of the Canadian wilderness like Thomson sketched in oils on small, transportable wood panels. These fresh and immediate responses were the basis for larger paintings completed in the studio. The final version of this sketch, now in the National Gallery of Canada, has become an icon of Canadian painting.

This panel was purchased by Mr. Weir in 1947 from Eatons of Toronto who sold a number of sketches from the collection of B.P. Watson of New York City. Mr. Weir bought two Thomson sketches at this time, the other an unidentified wood scene probably in Algonquin Park (Northern Woods).