AJ Casson’s « Anglican Church at Magnetawan »

« Reverend William Crompton, a travelling missionary, founded an Anglican mission at Magnetawan in 1880. Later that same year, construction began on this church. Built on the Old Nipissing Colonization Road at a time of tremendous growth in the area, the church provided a spiritual centre for the local community and served as an important meeting place for settlers. The building is a fine example of Carpenter Gothic, a late-19th-century architectural style that incorporated Gothic-inspired elements on wood-framed buildings. Resting on an outcropping of Precambrian bedrock and built with local timber; the church's location, architectural form and materials connect it to the natural landscape. A.J. Casson, a member of the Group of Seven, captured the iconic, picturesque qualities of this church in his painting Anglican Church at Magnetawan. St. George the Martyr has become a significant landmark and a symbol of the cultural and natural foundations upon which much of the province developed. »(1)

« Casson’s painting of the Anglican church of St. George the Martyr was the result of a 1932 sketching trip on the Magnetawan River east of Georgian Bay. The formal treatment of the building and landscape affirms the subject's institutional and spiritual values. »(2).

Casson’s painting of this church can be viewed at the second link below (source 2). He painted the church from the opposite side, however (the rear view), likely to get the beautiful river view that the church looks out upon. Today, the forest and surrounding woods did not allow me to access his vantage point.

Sources:(1) <a href="http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques/Plaque_Parry04.html" rel="nofollow">www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques/Plaque_Parry04.html</a>