Lot 186: Donald M. Flather 1903 - 1990 Canadian oil on

Donald M. Flather 1903 - 1990 Canadian oil on board Copper Island 36 x 48 inches 91.4 x 121.9 centimeters signed and on verso inscribed variously Provenance:Estate of the Artist Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 2, 2002, lot 58 Private Collection, USA Born in London, England, Donald Flather emigrated with his parents to Shuswap Lake in British Columbia, where his love of landscape began. Flather moved to Vancouver in his twenties and, after his education at the University of British Columbia, taught biology and science at various Vancouver high schools, rising to vice-principal of King George High School. Throughout his time as an educator, he continued to paint landscape works and was a founding member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, serving as its national treasurer and exhibiting in their shows. Through this organization he would have come into contact with Lawren Harris, who had arrived in Vancouver in 1940, and certainly the influence of Harris's painting can be seen in bold works such as Copper Island with its dramatic light and clear atmosphere. After his retirement in 1968, Flather devoted himself full time to his painting, exploring the British Columbia interior and coast, photographing scenes for reference for future paintings.