CASSON, ALFRED JOSEPH

born May 17, 1898, Toronto, Ont., Can. died Feb. 19, 1992, Toronto Canadian painter, a member of the Group of Seven painters (192032), which forged a national identity through the visual arts with their paintings of the Canadian landscape. From about 1913 Casson studied at schools in Hamilton and Toronto before joining a commercial art firm. In 1926 he was invited to join the Group of Seven, replacing Frank Johnston. By then the painters had turned from depicting only harsh landscapes to including urban scenes. Casson helped revive the watercolour medium. In later years he was instrumental in helping the Ontario Provincial Police identify forgeries, especially of Group of Seven works. A commercial artist for 32 years, he did not paint full-time until he retired at the age of 61. A harsh critic of his own works, he destroyed, to his later regret, many of his first paintings. His most acclaimed work was Anglican Church at Magnetawan.