Pine and Bare Hills II (Baptiste Lake, Ontario), January 1952
Watercolour
14 3/4 x 20 in
37.5 x 50.8 cm
This work is included in the David B. Milne Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings compiled by David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, Vol. 2, p. 637, no. 305.14
37.5 x 50.8 cm
This work is included in the David B. Milne Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings compiled by David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, Vol. 2, p. 637, no. 305.14
This painting is presently on view at our Toronto gallery
Provenance
Douglas Duncan/Picture Loan, 1956
The Isaacs Gallery, Toronto
William E. Toye, Toronto
Estate of the above
Literature
David Milne Jr. and David P. Silcox, David B. Milne: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Volume 2: 1929 - 1953, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998), no. 503.38, 975 [reproduced].
“Baptiste Lake is in the Bancroft area, just over 200 km northeast of Toronto. Frequently on the move throughout his life, often because of impecuniousness but also in search of new painting places, Milne scouted and then moved to this lake in the later 1940s. A skilled carpenter, he built a still-extent cabin in 1949. This was his studio for three years, the base for his explorations and memorable depictions of the surrounding landscape. Bancroft was a gritty and poor logging area at the time, yet the series of watercolours Milne executed there are, by contrast, ephemeral, even ethereal in their touch and mood” (Mark Cheetham).
Pines and Bare Trees II is characteristic of Milne’s manner of painting of this generation, the watercolour appearing effortless yet is carefully controlled, relying on degrees of wetness and the interaction of wash and line. The result is not a literal topography of Baptiste Lake but a distilled meditation on a winter landscape, painted from a summer study—still, contemplative, and resonant with the artist’s mature vision.
Painted during Milne’s final, intensely productive years at Baptiste Lake, Pines and Bare Trees II exemplifies the refined economy and atmospheric sensitivity of his late watercolours. The composition is structured by a low, undulating line of hills set beneath a pale winter sky, rendered with thin horizontal veils of blue and warm grey wash. Below, a sparse stand of dark pines and leafless trees rises from the snow, their forms abbreviated to calligraphic strokes and softly bleeding silhouettes.
Balancing restraint and expressive freedom, the trees are suggested rather than described, their vertical rhythms punctuated by unexpected flickers of orange, rust, and muted green that animate the otherwise subdued winter palette. The hills, lightly edged with warm tones, seem to glow from within, creating a quiet contrast to the darker foreground forms.
The Art Gallery of Ontario has prepared an informative series of videos on Milne, one of which explores Baptiste Lake through the artist’s diaries and a commentary by David Milne Jr., who remembers living there when this picture was made. Click to watch video.
Pines and Bare Trees II is characteristic of Milne’s manner of painting of this generation, the watercolour appearing effortless yet is carefully controlled, relying on degrees of wetness and the interaction of wash and line. The result is not a literal topography of Baptiste Lake but a distilled meditation on a winter landscape, painted from a summer study—still, contemplative, and resonant with the artist’s mature vision.
Painted during Milne’s final, intensely productive years at Baptiste Lake, Pines and Bare Trees II exemplifies the refined economy and atmospheric sensitivity of his late watercolours. The composition is structured by a low, undulating line of hills set beneath a pale winter sky, rendered with thin horizontal veils of blue and warm grey wash. Below, a sparse stand of dark pines and leafless trees rises from the snow, their forms abbreviated to calligraphic strokes and softly bleeding silhouettes.
Balancing restraint and expressive freedom, the trees are suggested rather than described, their vertical rhythms punctuated by unexpected flickers of orange, rust, and muted green that animate the otherwise subdued winter palette. The hills, lightly edged with warm tones, seem to glow from within, creating a quiet contrast to the darker foreground forms.
The Art Gallery of Ontario has prepared an informative series of videos on Milne, one of which explores Baptiste Lake through the artist’s diaries and a commentary by David Milne Jr., who remembers living there when this picture was made. Click to watch video.
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