Two Lakes

Created in 1921, this print presents a landscape defined by two bodies of water, their surfaces occupying separate planes within the composition. The presence of two lakes in a single view is characteristic of the Canadian Shield and Manitoba's lake country, where glacial action carved thousands of depressions into the bedrock, leaving a landscape punctuated by water at every turn. Walter J. Phillips positions the viewer at a vantage point, perhaps a ridge or hilltop, from which both lakes are visible, separated by a strip of forested land. The woodblock technique suits this layered landscape, with each plane of water, forest, and sky carved and printed as a distinct color field. The two lakes may reflect different sky conditions or sit at different elevations, giving each a distinct color character: one might appear steel blue while the other catches warmer light from a different angle.