Stanley Cosgrove’s Four Trees is a moody forest interior built from a screen of tall, slender trunks set close to the picture plane. The composition is dominated by vertical bands of brown, black, olive green, and blue-green, with the trees rising against a pale, overcast sky. Between them, Cosgrove suggests dense, shadowed foliage and undergrowth rather than a fully open landscape, so the space feels enclosed and quiet.

Stanley Morel Cosgrove was born in Montreal in 1911 and became one of Canada’s most distinctive modern painters, known for his compositions of trees and his portraits. He began his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal in 1927, where he trained under Edwin Holgate, developing a strong foundation in drawing and composition.

Cosgrove’s early career was shaped by travel and study abroad. Although he initially intended to study in France, the outbreak of World War II redirected him to Mexico in 1940, where he attended the Academia de San Carlos. There, he worked under the influential muralist José Clemente Orozco, gaining experience in fresco painting and absorbing a broader, more expressive approach to colour and structure.

Upon returning to Canada, Cosgrove developed a highly personal style. His work is characterized by simplified forms and a controlled palette, often reducing his subjects to their essential shapes. Four Trees, painted circa 1975, reflects this mature approach. The trees themselves become almost symbolic forms, conveying a sense of stillness. 

He was associated with important Canadian institutions, including the Canadian Group of Painters and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and exhibited widely across Canada and internationally.

His work is held in major public collections, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the National Gallery of Canada, reflecting his lasting contribution to Canadian modernism.