Winter comes from the Arctic to the Temperate Zone 1935

Lawren Harris made this painting, "Winter Comes from the Arctic to the Temperate Zone", with what looks like thin layers of oil paint, to create these very precise lines and geometric shapes. It feels like he was trying to capture not just a place, but a feeling, maybe a sense of vastness and the cold. The paint application here is so smooth, it almost feels like you could touch the surface and it would be cool to the touch. See how the colours shift from those icy blues of the mountains to the muted yellows in the foreground? It’s like he’s building up the scene in layers, almost like stacking blocks. And the light! How it hits those snowy peaks, creating these stark contrasts... It’s not just about what’s there, but about how light changes everything. That main peak looks like a pointing hand, warning us. Harris reminds me a little of Agnes Martin, another painter obsessed with subtle shifts in tone. Like her, his work isn't just about what you see, but what you feel, what you sense beyond the surface. In both cases, there is a quietness to the work, asking you to slow down, to really look, and to consider the many possibilities that can emerge from a simple palette of marks.