Œuvres d'art

The significance of this painting lies in its confirmation of the deep bond of friendship between Sarah Robertson and Prudence Heward. It serves as evidence that Robertson was a guest at Fernbank, the Heward property near Brockville where she spent time with Heward. This work captures the very view from Fernbank, offering a rare glimpse into the setting that inspired her.

Of the Beaver Hall Group women who maintained their friendship for the better part of 30 years, Sarah Robertson was conceivably the least prolific, making fine paintings by her especially rare and precious for Beaver Hall Group collectors. Robertson had only two solo exhibitions, both held posthumously: the first was a Memorial Exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in 1951, and the second occurred at Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., in 1991, marking the 100th anniversary of Robertson's birth.

Dr. Barbara Meadowcroft, author of Painting Friends, The Beaver Hall Women Painters published an insightful biography of Sarah Robertson for the 1991 Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc, Sarah Robertson Retrospective Exhibition.

"In 1920 a group of [William] Brymner’s students, past and present, banded together to form the Beaver Hall Hill Group. Undoubtedly, the example of the Toronto-based Group of Seven, which held its first exhibition in May 1920, provided a powerful incentive to the Montreal artists. Encouraged by A.Y. Jackson, whom they elected president, the Beaver Hall artists held their first annual exhibition at their studios on Beaver Hall Hill. Both The Gazette and La Presse gave generous coverage to the vernissage, which took place January 17, 1921. In his opening speech, Jackson emphasized the right of the artist to paint what he feels. "Schools and ‘isms’ do not trouble us," Jackson maintained, "individual expression is our chief concern."

Sarah Robertson was at the hub of the group. She was, in Anne Savage’s words, "a bureau of information for her friends, who would come to her for help and discussion... concerning their work." Prudence Heward, in particular, relied on Robertson’s criticism and always showed her paintings to Sarah before anyone else.

Outdoor sketching was an integral part of the group's dynamic, offering the women opportunities to gather, share ideas, and paint together. Whenever transportation was available, they would pack a picnic and head to the countryside; otherwise, they found inspiration in cityscapes closer to home. Sarah Robertson’s own circuit was more limited, she stayed with the Hewards at Fernbank near Brockville, visited Nora Collyer in the Eastern Townships, or spent time with family friends in Stowe, Vermont.

Robertson’s paintings reflect her capacity to charge "every tiny experience with an intense emotional ecstasy." She loved nature and that love is expressed in her work. But she was no slavish imitator. As Lismer remarked of Sarah Robertson’s work in 1934, "she has the courage to create landscapes, and not copy them literally."

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Source: 

Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc, Sarah Robertson Retrospective Exhibition (Montreal: Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., 1991).