Lot 26
FREDERIC MARLETT BELL-SMITH, O.S.A., R.C.A.
Provenance:
Private Collection, Port Hope, Ontario.
Literature:
Roger Boulet, Frederic Martlett Bell-Smith, (1846-1923), Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, 1977, page 91, plate 70, for a similar watercolour entitled Mt. Carrol.
Boulet writes that many artists have said the Rocky Mountains were impossible to paint. However, he states that few Canadian artists have painted them as successfully as Bell-Smith. Boulet’s description of Mt. Carrol explains “The success of this watercolour of Mt. Carrol depends principally on Bell-Smith’s ability to make the mountain convincing in scale and its actual formation. The soft alpine meadow in the foreground is the perfect contrast to the hard and cold peak.” This account could perfectly describe this lot.