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Listed Canadian Artist: 1909-1968
Sight Size: h: 10 in. by w: 12 in. Oil on Canvas board ca. 1950
Signed: Recto lower right
Titled Verso: "Birches at Palgrave - Ontario"
Encased: within a 1950's frame with inner slip liner, original to this painting.
Overall Condition: Clean and varnished with no surface condition issues.
H. Oswald Stacey, P-ALC
Harold Oswald Stacey was a Canadian landscape painter best known for his depictions of the Ontario and Quebec countryside. Born in Toronto, Ontario, in December 1909, he studied at the Ontario College of Art, where he developed a strong foundation in traditional landscape painting and draftsmanship. Throughout his career, Stacey specialized in painting the scenic rural landscapes of Central Canada, capturing woodlands, rivers, rolling hills, and changing seasonal conditions with a naturalistic approach.
Stacey was an active member of the Canadian art community and belonged to the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA). He was also a member of Toronto's prestigious Arts and Letters Club, serving as its President from 1964 to 1966, a reflection of the respect he earned among fellow artists and cultural leaders. Oz, as he was known to his friends, studied at the Ontario College of Art and exhibited with the Ontario Society of Artists on many occasions together with his peers Lawren Harris, Charles Comfort and A.Y. Jackson.
Working primarily in oils, Stacey painted throughout Ontario and Quebec, favouring tranquil landscapes that emphasized atmosphere, colour harmony, and the subtle effects of light. His paintings often depict quiet country roads, forests, lakes, and rural communities, conveying a strong sense of place and Canada's natural beauty. His traditional style appealed to collectors who appreciated representational Canadian landscape painting during the mid-twentieth century.
In addition to exhibiting his work, Stacey's paintings were reproduced as Christmas greeting cards, helping to introduce his landscapes to a wider audience. Although never as widely known as members of the Group of Seven or their contemporaries, his work has remained appreciated by collectors of historic Canadian landscape art.
Harold Oswald Stacey died in Toronto in 1968 at the young age of 59. Today, his paintings continue to appear at Canadian auctions and in private collections, where they are valued for their sincere interpretation of the Canadian landscape and their enduring traditional craftsmanship.
Painting Ref No: 9TEOX09EB-S/NOEX
Harold Oswald Stacey, President of the Arts and Letters Club, Toronto
