The Darling Barn in Medonte c. 1977, by Charles Fraser Comfort (1900 to 1994), is a quietly powerful work that reveals Comfort’s gift for transforming familiar rural architecture into something atmospheric and deeply felt. The ornate barn sits alone in a peaceful clearing, framed by tall trees, rose bushes, and sweeping clouds that press low across the sky. Comfort’s palette is rooted in soft and varied greens, with warm yellows drifting through the scene and casting an unusual light that heightens the painting’s sense of quiet mystery. The solitary structure feels both grounded and symbolic, its stillness suggesting themes of endurance, memory, and the gentle poetry of rural life.

Charles Comfort was born in 1900 in Cramond, near Edinburgh, Scotland, and emigrated with his family to Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1912. He began his artistic training early. At just 14 he apprenticed at the graphic design firm Brigdens Limited in Winnipeg while taking evening classes at the Winnipeg School of Art. He later continued his studies in New York at the Art Students League under influential teachers including Robert Henri and E. Allen Tucker, refining his draftsmanship, sense of composition, and approach to atmospheric landscape.

By 1925 he had settled in Toronto, where he became deeply involved in the city’s arts community. Through the Arts and Letters Club, he formed connections with members of the Group of Seven, whose pioneering approach to Canadian landscape painting strengthened his own interest in the country’s varied terrain, from coastal cliffs to rural farmlands, and shaped the atmospheric sensibility seen throughout his work.  This piece measures 20 x 26 inches, and is signed bottom right.