Stanley Cosgrove Canadian, 1911-2002
Quiet Path, c 1970
oil on canvas
16 x 20 in
signed bottom right
Currency:
Further images
Stanley Cosgrove’s Quiet Path presents a hushed woodland interior seen from within the trees, where slender trunks rise vertically and compress the space into a rhythmic screen of greys, blue-greens,...
Stanley Cosgrove’s Quiet Path presents a hushed woodland interior seen from within the trees, where slender trunks rise vertically and compress the space into a rhythmic screen of greys, blue-greens, and muted ochres. The forest floor is loosely indicated with pale, broken strokes, suggesting dappled light filtering through the canopy rather than a clearly defined path. Cosgrove’s brushwork is quick and abbreviated—curving flicks and short dashes animate the bark and foliage—giving the scene a sense of gentle movement without narrative incident. The palette remains restrained and cool, with warmer notes subtly embedded to prevent the composition from becoming inert. Overall, the painting conveys stillness and introspection, favouring mood and structure over description, and reflecting Cosgrove’s characteristic balance between observation and modernist simplification.