We are excited to announce a rare and important major canvas by Frederick Arthur Verner (1836-1928) is now available for private sale. Signed and dated 1914, it depicts “Canadian Bison”, the subject for which the early artist explorer is celebrated. Unlike, Paul Kane, or the American artist George Catlin — both of whom sensationalized the violent hunt of bison in their paintings — Verner represented the animals in a state of harmony and serenity with nature. This unique approach set him apart and cemented his legacy as the preeminent painter of the “Last Buffalo” - the title of Joan Murray’s 1984 book on the artist.

By 1879 the great Bison herds of North America had vanished. Relentless overhunting and loss of habitat reduced their numbers from 30million in the early 19th century to mere hundreds by the 1880s. To aid his compositions, Verner used studies taken from zoos and Wild West shows like Buffalo Bill’s. In 1951 Verner’s descendants donated a collection of these drawings to the National Gallery, now an invaluable resource into Verner’s working methods.

While modest watercolours and panels of Verner’s Bison may be found the opportunity to acquire a large scale canvas (58 x 38 in.) with exhibition history is exceedingly rare. Unlike many canvases from the period it has not been re-lined and retains the original signature and inscriptions to verso. The last work of this scale and medium to come to market was in Sothebys Canada sale of Important Canadian Art from Nov. 1996, “Bison Morning”.