This pastel on paper piece was produced during the Great Depression and sold for $75 in 1934. That is the equivalent to $1600 today! Most of the time you don’t find the original price on historic art, but this piece has the original price of $75.
Frank Hennessey who produced this piece always had an innate talent for art, so much so that his nature study drawings were published in a nature journal when he was just six years old.
His early exposure to the wilderness came at 14 when he joined famous Captain Bernier on an Arctic voyage, serving as an assistant naturalist and artist. This experience as a child influenced his art for the rest of his life where loved to capture Canadian landscapes.
His professional career was impressive, as he worked with the Geological Survey of Canada, illustrating P. A. Taverner's bird books.
He also worked for the Department of Agriculture's entomology division, where he continued to work until his death. He tragically died very young at 48 years old, his death was attributed to his health and the loss of his mother.
His art is in public galleries and musuems across Canada, such as the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Museum of the Province of Quebec.