You always hear in the news how someone, somewhere came across a painting at a church sale unsuspecting of its true value. And then it happens, they discover the treasure they brought home is not just a mere treasure for adorning the walls of their home but one which should be in a museum for all to revel in.
Who hasn't had the thought run through their head of discovering an object of crowning value when on a hunt for treasures? I know, I'm one who has and still does but not always, most of the time I'm quite content in discovering something that belonged to someone who's passed on and finding clues in the object that tells me more of their story. The mystery creates the curiosity of which I will never cease to have, I love digging for lost treasures! Dead people's stuff is so interesting to me, it's the kinda of stuff that brings the past into the present and me into the past; a connector to a time long past and forgotten.
Not long ago, a Maud Lewis painting was discovered at a thrift store in southern Ontario and was initially passed off for nothing more than a painting done by a child just because it was painted in the naive style. Don't judge the book by its cover yet how many of us have done exactly that? A mistake easily made when you come across a beautiful book with the most exquisitely detailed gilded artwork you ever laid eyes on. Naturally, we get lost in its beauty and some forget to look inside.
It is the countenance of the book that one must examine thoroughly and not just it's cover, alone; together they are the pieces to the puzzle that make the picture.
So when I discovered this landscape painting many years ago at the Ottawa neighborhood store the serene landscape made me think of The Group of Seven. I think it was the sunset, something Franklin Carmicheal might have painted. I liked its beautiful tranquil setting, I liked it because of its gorgeous sunset, because of the fact that it was an original, because it was painted in oil and because it was painted on a canvas that placed its origin back to England. The artist's identity though was and is a mystery to this day. Maybe the artist was not the boastful kind or perhaps didn't find it important enough to sign it since it was just a study to emulate a famous master or simply, had just forgotten.
The painting with the missing mark, the mark of ownership of who painted the landscape, will never tell its tale of where it's life began. Did the artist give it a name? Was it painted in Plein air or from a photograph taken on a holiday or from the artist's dream? Where was this secret place?
The artist's name missing, adds more of the mystery already attached to the painting. An old, antique painting belonging to an artist whose story I would love to learn more about only the story stops at the mouth of a river with the setting sun shimmering down into its still waters. The forests and hills are a few of the clues where the secret place may be and likely, will never be revealed. This lost and found treasure keeps being forever intriguing.
The painting now adorns our home, desperately needing a frame, a very old one to complement its scenery would be fitting. I can pretend it was painted by someone famous, wouldn't it be lovely if it really belonged to Franklin Carmicheal?
In the end, I love the painting, famous or not, it does what a great painting should do, it captivates and draws you into its magical landscape and gives you a daydream.
