Parallel Destinies: Homer Watson & Carl Ahrens
Dundas Museum & Archives
Dundas, Ontario
June 20 – September 5, 2015
This exhibition showcased the works of two Canadian landscape artists, Homer Watson and Carl Ahrens. The term parallel, used in the title, is a double-entendre. The evolution of Watson and Ahrens is similar in some respects. Both artists were born in Ontario, self-taught, and were friends and members of the same artistic societies. Yet, their lives were separated, never meeting.
Watson rose to fame young, and had an exemplary life and career. However, the quality of Watson's work decreased and he died a poor man. Ahrens was sick most of his life, lived a Bohemian lifestyle, and struggled to make a living. But nonetheless, Ahrens completed some of his best works in the later part of his life.
Almost eighty years after their passing, we ask ourselves - who did the right thing as an artist?
Sandu Sindile - Former Curator, Dundas Museum & Archives
Featured Art
Untitled Autumn Scene
Watercolor on paper
16.5 x 12.5 cm
Signed c. 1934
Collection of Kim Bullock
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Deborah Downes
This painting originally belonged to Frank Page. Page was a journalist, publisher, poet, historian, biographer of Waterloo County (Ontario) painter, Homer Watson, and president of the Waterloo Historical Society. He was a friend to both Carl Ahrens and Homer Watson.
Untitled Landscape
Oil on plywood
40.5 x 35.5 cm
Signed 1935
Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery
Gift of Joan and Ross Murray 1985
Photo by Chris Keith
Figures in the Woods
Watercolor on paper
23 x 18 cm
Signed 1936
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Deborah Downes
Carl Ahrens died in February 1936, so this is one of his last paintings. The final months of his life were spent at the Toronto Psychiatric Hospital, where he had no access to scenes like this.
The Day is Done
Oil on canvas
58.5 x 84 cm
Signed 1890
Collection of Sandu Sindile
Photo by Sandu Sindile
Path in the Woods
Watercolor on paper
21.5 x 18 cm
Signed 1934
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Deborah Downes
By the Grand River
Oil on board
15 x 23 cm
Signed 1930
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Deborah Downes
Camp on the Plains
Watercolor on paper
15 x 30.5 cm
Signed 1888
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Deborah Downes
Untitled Forest Interior
Oil on canvas mounted on board
30 x 20 cm
Signed c. 1918
Private Collection
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This painting was originally part of the estate of George G. Nasmith (1877–1965). Nasmith and Charles Burden took over as Ahrens' patrons after the death of Major-General Malcolm S. Mercer in June of 1916.
Clump of Trees
Drypoint and aquatint with surface tone
9 x 8 cm
Signed
Private Collection
Photo by Lorna Ferguson
Red Jacketed Figure in Wooded Landscape
Oil on board
38 x 30.5 cm
Signed
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Deborah Downes
This painting was originally in the collection of Ahrens' friend, John Noble Mackendrick of Galt, Ontario. It would have been painted between 1923 and 1935.
Harvesting
Oil on panel
14 x 23 cm
Signed
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Kim Bullock
This painting was recently cleaned by Helen Houp.
Untitled Landscape
Oil on board
18 x 12.5 cm
Signed lower left
Collection of Sandu Sindile
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Lorna Ferguson
Untitled Landscape with House and Pond
Oil on board
20 x 15 cm
Signed 1933
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Deborah Downes
This painting was recently cleaned by Helen Houp.
In the Woods
Etching and aquatint with surface tone
10 x 9 cm
Signed before 22 December 1927
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Chris Keith
Trees with Pond
Watercolor on paper
16.5 x 14 cm
Signed c. 1929
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Kim Bullock
This painting was given by Carl to Dr. E.K. Richardsen in exchange for medical services in 1929. It was passed down to the doctor's granddaughter before being purchased back by one of Carl's descendants.
Edge of the Wood
Oil on canvas
63.5 x 48 cm
Signed c. 1910
Collection of The Art Gallery of Hamilton (Ontario)
Gift of Dr. J.S. Lawson, 1960
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This painting was exhibited, along with the rest of the Mercer Collection, at the Toronto Reference Library in October of 1911.
Evening in Surrey
Oil on board
25.5 x 33 cm
Signed 1935
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Deborah Downes
This painting is one of a few that Carl did when he lived in England in 1935.
The Feeding Ground
Oil on canvas
89 x 99 cm
Signed 1930
Private Collection
Photo by Sandu Sindile
Forest Interior
Oil on board
26.5 x 21.5 cm
Signed
Private Collection
Photo by Sandu Sindile
Untitled Landscape
Oil on board
21 x 14 cm
Signed c. 1934
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Deborah Downes
This painting originally belonged to Frank Page. Page was a journalist, publisher, poet, historian, biographer of Waterloo County (Ontario) painter, Homer Watson, and president of the Waterloo Historical Society. He was also a friend to both Carl Ahrens and Homer Watson.
Moving Shadows
Oil on canvas
61 x 51 cm
Signed c. 1910
Collection of Sandu Sindile
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This painting, along with all others in the Mercer Collection, was exhibited in the Toronto Reference Library in October of 1911.
Near Doon
Oil on canvas
51 x 38 cm
Signed c. 1930
Collection of Kim Bullock
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Sandu Sindile
Pathway in the Hills
Watercolor on paper
24 x 20.5 cm
Signed 1931
Collection of Kim Bullock
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Sandu Sindile
I would have dated this piece much earlier if there were not a date on it. It does not appear to say '91,' which would have been what I expected. This does not appear to be an Ontario scene of any sort. Maybe it was a commissioned piece.
Figures on the Shore
Oil on canvas
23 x 44.5 cm
Signed 1888
Collection of Kim Bullock
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This painting appeared at the Views of Canada - Victorian Age Landscape Artists exhibition at the Dundas Museum & Archives in Dundas, Ontario from June 19th to September 2nd in 2014.
The Picnickers
Etching and aquatint with surface tone
25.5 x 20 cm
Signed
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Kim Bullock
Nuestra Senora de la Solidad
Oil on board
43 x 32 cm
Signed c. 1906
Collection of Fred and Deborah Downes
Photo by Deborah Downes
This would have been painted in the summer of 1906. Carl's wife, Madonna, loved it so much that she claimed it for herself, but years later Carl forgot and gave it to a friend. As of September of 2008, the painting is back in the family.
On Georgian Bay
Oil on canvas
35.5 x 25.5 cm
Signed c. 1913
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This painting would have been painted in the small village of Leith, Ontario, on the shores of Georgian Bay. The Ahrens family summered there in 1913 and 1914. This painting sold at auction under the name Leith Woods and it appeared at the Parallel Destinies exhibition under that name, but its original title was likely On Georgian Bay, which appeared in a 1917 exhibition at the Roberts Gallery. That painting was described as a “pretty sketch of northern lake scenery viewed through a screen of woods.”
Landscape With Figure Carrying Sack
Etching and aquatint in brown
12.5 x 10 cm
Signed
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Chris Keith
Ship on Stormy Sea
Watercolor on board
18 x 12.5 cm
Signed lower left
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Kim Bullock
Midsummer
Oil on canvas
51 x 40.5 cm
Signed c. 1917
Private Collection
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This painting was originally part of the estate of George G. Nasmith (1877–1965). Mr. Nasmith was a friend of Carl’s and took over as patron after the death of Major General Malcolm S. Mercer.
The Evening Sun
Oil on canvas
63.5 x 81 cm
Signed c. 1910
Private Collection
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This piece was originally owned by Major-General Malcolm S. Mercer and was exhibited at the Public Reference Library (Toronto) in October of 1911. In 1928, the painting was auctioned by the Jenkins Galleries of Toronto and sold for $425.
The Inlet
Oil on canvas
58.5 x 81 cm
Signed c. 1910
Collection of Kim Bullock
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This painting was exhibited in the Toronto Reference Library in October of 1911. It was at one time sold with the title Night Time and is referred to with that title in a 1928 article in Canadian Homes and Gardens. The Mercer exhibition catalog lists the original title, The Inlet.
In the Woods / Tree Roots 1933
Etching and aquatint with surface tone
18 x 14.5 cm
Signed 1933
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Chris Keith
The Valley
Oil on canvas
90 x 74 cm
Signed c. 1910
City of Toronto, Museum Services, Spadina Museum
Photo by Sandu Sindile
This painting, along with the rest of the Mercer Collection, was exhibited at the Toronto Reference Library in October of 1911.
Untitled Edge of the Wood
Watercolor on paper
21.5 x 29.7 cm
Signed
Collection of Sandu Sindile
Photo by Sandu Sindile
The Road to Town
Etching with surface tone
30.5 x 25.5 cm
Signed
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Chris Keith
Self Portrait
Watercolor on paper
10 x 7.5 cm
Unsigned c. 1886
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Kim Bullock
According to the notes on the back of this painting, this was among Carl Ahrens’ first paintings. It is one of the few left unsigned. It is still in the family, so we are certain the work is his.
Untitled Forest Scene with Red-Jacketed Figure
Oil on canvas
38 x 31 cm
Signed
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Deborah Downes
This painting has always been kept within the family. It was cleaned and restored in 1999 by Helen Houp.
Country Lane
Watercolor on paper
16 x 21 cm
Signed
Collection of Kim Bullock
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Sandu Sindile
The Teepee
Etching and aquatint with surface tone
18 x 14 cm
Signed
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Chris Keith
Wooded Landscape with Turkeys
Drypoint and aquatint with surface tone
20 x 15 cm
Signed
Collection of Kim Bullock
Photo by Kim Bullock
Woodland Path
Oil on canvas
34 x 26.5 cm
Signed
Collection of Kim Bullock
Acquired from the estate of rych mills
Photo by Sandu Sindile
Opening Day Images
