The Sense of Snow in the work of two Canadian Artists

Lawren S. Harris. Winter Morning, 1914, oil on canvas, 103 x 115.1 cm. Purchased 1914. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. © Family of Lawren S. Harris Photo: NGC 

With the arrival of winter and snow covering the ground in most parts of the country, one might find oneself looking out the window these days and appreciating the stark beauty of the cold landscape (or perhaps longing for warmer temperatures instead). The winter months can sometimes feel interminable in Canada – some days dreary and grey, others glittering and exhilarating. We find ourselves drawn to hibernating and staying cozy, taking advantage of the shorter days to rest and recharge. At other times, we are lured outdoors by a bright sky, sparkling white snow and the promise of fresh cold air in our lungs, as we trudge through a forest or strap on a pair of skis.

Winter brings with it a range of sensory experiences, and Canadian artists have long been drawn to exploring the season's unique aesthetic qualities and its varied effects on the senses. There is no shortage of winter images in the history of Canadian art – from the memorable scenes by Cornelius Krieghoff depicting facets of 19th-century Canadian life, to early-20th-century paintings of snowy streets and towns, to vibrant landscapes of the Group of Seven that pushed the boundaries of technique and colour in the depiction of nature. The Group of Seven often imbued their winter landscape paintings with a surprising variety of bold colours. In so doing, they expressed the vitality of the cold outdoor experience.

On view in the Indigenous and Canadian galleries, Winter Morning (1914) by Lawren S. Harris comprises a startling number of colours. The forest trees in the background are painted in shades of dusky purple, set against a golden yellow that is most pronounced on the horizon, where the sun is beginning to rise. The sky then diffuses into richly textured shades of pale yellow, pink and blue. The multicoloured light is subtly reflected in the snow on the ground: hints of pale blue and pink blended with white. As our eyes travel upward over the limbs of each spindly tree, we discover painted patches of blue-green, mauve, orange and pale pink stitched together.

In the composition, it is almost as if the artist has left a subtle opening in the centre, at the foot of the trees that are shorter, where viewers are invited in and can place themselves. In the absence of objects in the foreground, one can imagine being in this forest – quiet, peaceful, standing in the snow, breathing in the scent of the trees, taking in the stillness, warmed by the glow of the emerging sunlight. The low horizon line adds to the sense of grandeur by emphasizing the heights of the trees.

In a 1978 exhibition, Lawren S. Harris: Urban Scenes and Wilderness Landscapes, 1906–1930, curator Jeremy Adamson asserted that “the degree of realism in [Winter Morning] indicates that it was painted in direct response to an actual experience of the wilderness,” contrasting it to another painting, which had been painted in the studio and appeared more idealized and less “real”.  Harris has certainly evoked a faithful impression of a crisp winter morning. The work is a stunning example of the way in which artists can invite us to reflect upon our own rich, embodied experience of the world.

L.L. FitzGerald, From an Upstairs Window, Winter, c. 1950–51, oil on canvas, 61 x 45.7 cm. Purchased 1951. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Photo: NGC 

Smaller in scale and more subdued in colour than Harris’s winter landscape, L.L. FitzGerald’s From An Upstairs Window, Winter (c. 1950–51) is by contrast a view of winter from an interior looking out. The important Canadian artist, rooted in Manitoba, has depicted an altogether different, although no less familiar experience of winter in Canada.

Unlike the expansive open space in Harris’ painting, the pictorial space in FitzGerald’s image is compressed. The viewer is placed into a tight scene: very close up to the windowsill in the foreground, with trees and houses outside also appearing in close proximity. The tracery of tree limbs brings to mind a fence or netting, adding to the feeling of enclosure. Depending on the viewer’s perspective, this interior view creates an impression of being “cooped up”, or alternatively, of being pleasantly “cozy” in wintertime.  

Lawren S. Harris, Winter Morning (detail), 1914 and L.L. FitzGerald, From an Upstairs Window, Winter (detail), c. 1950–51. © Family of Lawren S. Harris Photo: NGC

One element the Harris and FitzGerald works have in common is their aesthetic appreciation of trees in winter. Each artist has taken great care to portray the unique qualities of trees at this time of the year. Having lost their leaves, these natural forms are perfect for experimentation with lines, whether as overlays of irregularly shaped branches or as vertical bands of coloured trunks spread across the picture plane.

The use of line is a key formal element in FitzGerald’s picture. Numerous straight lines are used to construct the window frame, taking up a significant portion of the interior space. The weighty, rounded form of the jug anchors the composition at the intersection of these lines. The pencil, set at its own unique angle and foreshortened in space, catches the viewer’s eye, waiting to be picked up.

Colour and how it is used is the other dominant component of this painting. The entire canvas is notably composed of varying shades of neutral tones. Although the bold variety of colours in Harris’s canvas evokes the energy of the outdoor experience, the muted tones used here express a different mood. Do the shades of brown, white and grey convey the warmth and calmness of this interior space, protected from the cold winter air? Or do they suggest the barrenness and bleakness of winter? The answer inevitably depends on each viewer.

In FitzGerald’s painting, the colour scheme also unites the interior and the exterior. The two environments blend together rather than being distinctly separated, creating a sense of harmony and integration. The same rings true of the human experience: sometimes one can feel part of the winter landscape simply by observing it from a window.

Whether we admire winter scenery from inside, out in the fresh air, or in a painting, there are many ways to experience and appreciate this unique season.

Winter Morning by Lawren S. Harris is on view in Room A105a and L.L. FitzGerald’s From An Upstairs Window, Winter is on view in Room A109 at the National Gallery of Canada. Share this article and subscribe to our newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest articles, Gallery exhibitions, news and events, and to learn more about art in Canada.