Fantastical trees curl and huddle together on this Lake Superior island, set against an electric blue sky. They may conjure fairy tales or faraway places, but for Harris they were distinctly representative of Canada. As a leader of the modernist group of Canadian artists known as the Group of Seven, he advocated for nationalist art drawn from the northern landscape. His paintings and writings were shaped by anti-immigration sentiments following World War I. In a 1926 essay, he celebrates the “living whiteness” and “cleansing rhythms” of rural areas like this one, positioning them in opposition to the diversity of cities.