Prairie Landscape, June 27, 1935

Black and white pencil drawing by Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald of small farm buildings on flat land on a low horizon. Above, large fluffy clouds fill the sky. The piece is rendered lightly with soft texture in the shaded areas.

Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald, Prairie Landscape, June 27, 1935, graphite on paper, 30.5 x 22.9 cm, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.

Drawing was ultimately the foundation for all of FitzGerald’s art. Here, he uses graphite, perhaps his favourite medium, to capture the prairie sky and penetrating brilliant light under which FitzGerald would sit, exposed to the elements.


He said, “The only way I can account for the extreme delicacy of the pencil drawings is because of the terrific light we have here. The drawings always look strong enough when I am working on them outside, otherwise I would not be able to do them but when I get them home they have the feeling of having faded on the short trip.”

Gallery

Prairie Landscape - Art Canada