RIchard Karon Painting Courtesy of Richard Hall

Richard Karon Painting courtesy of  and with many thanks, Richard Hall.

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Richard Karon Paintings Courtesy Douglas Rathbun

Richard Karon paintings shared courtesy of Douglas Rathbun. Thank you.

Autumn Flame

Secluded Fall

Red Maple

Brunel Road View

Small Brook

Bastedo Creek

Pictures courtesy of Shirley Collins

Chris Van Aert

Watford, ON

WELCOME TO THE RICHARD KARON BLOGSITE

WELCOME TO THE RICHARD KARON BLOGSITE

     This newly established blogsite is dedicated to the biography of well known Muskoka and Canadian artist, Richard Karon, formerly of Baysville, Ontario, in the Township of Lake of Bays, District of Muskoka. Although Mr. Karon didn't have a lengthy artistic career in Muskoka, the period he did paint locally, from the early 1970's until the mid 1980's, inspired many hundreds of landscapes, many that he sold from his home-studio, situated a short distance from the Village of Baysville. He was one of the first participating artists on the annual Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour in the 1970's.
     The initial biographical work began in the winter of 2012 with the assistance of the artist's son, Richard Sahoff Karon, with the lead researcher / author Ted Currie, of Muskoka History Resources, and was published on his personal blogsite, with a companion video highlighting the painter's work. The site included many images of Mr. Karon's paintings, as provided by the Karon family, and many other painting owners, who agreed to have their private collections reproduced, to create an inventory of paintings for researchers. The completed blog, with companion art work, was offered to both the National Art Gallery archives, and the archives of the Ontario Museum of Art.
     It was agreed from commencement that a separate blog would be created, at the conclusion of the biography, to facilitate research on his career, and to assist those who own Richard Karon originals, learn more about the artist behind the work. This has now been completed. It also allows for comments to be submitted, and questions to be asked, (of the researcher and the Karon family) regarding the artist's career. There has not, to this point, been a way to accurately evaluate his art pieces, as few have come up for auction, which would normally set a "traded" value, that could be used for insurance purposes. We are interested in knowing about "asking" and "paid" values, found in the marketplace, in order to establish, at the very least, a trend in prices; those asked, and attained across the country. We would appreciate any information you can provide, to help us determine the current market values of his work for sale, based on observations and actual sales transactions, which may be provided by galleries and antique shops, that have sold his work in the past.....or are currently offering his panels for sale. Original acquisition prices would be helpful, if you have either original receipts or a good memory.
    To use this site, you will need to 'ARCHIVE BACK" through the biography, as it has been published in "blog" format, to allow for updates, new information, submissions, critiques, and personal memories, to appear most current on the site. You can find a directory of the editorial content, on the blogsite history.
     We are always interested in receiving more digital images of original Karon paintings, that with the owner's permission, can be added to the art inventory on this site, and shared with researchers and other art collectors. Hope you enjoy the site, and feel free to comment on the art work.

Richard Karon Part 12

UPDATE ON RICHARD KARON BIOGRAPHY -

A FEW WORDS FROM HIS SON-

     The moment I introduced myself to the artist's son, back in January, I knew we had been destined to meet, and to work together. It was as if I had known him for years. I had even experienced visions of this eventual meeting, one day, and a hunch, there was going to be some writing involved. I write a great deal about the paranormal, in my other line of work, so trust me, this kind of stuff happens a lot. For the past five years, I've had hundreds of requests to appraise Richard Karon paintings, as an antique dealer. Primarily, it all generated from an article, I had written some years earlier, that a painting owner had posted on the internet. I only became aware of this, when I finally asked my son to do a google-search, so I could identify what article these people were quoting, that I'd written many years earlier, for the local press. Right up until the fall of 2011, I was still answering these enquiries. As I've written about before, I was getting so many requests that I finally wrote a standard email to send back, offering what little information I had…..and ball park estimates on painting values. I remember saying to my wife Suzanne, that I should write this biography, just based on the volume of people who are seeking information. Of the many artists I know about, in our region, Karon requests are a hundred times, to each of the others I know a little about. This biography was destined, in many ways, to happen.

     It began two years earlier, when Richard Sahoff Karon contacted me, asking whether I had any biographic information on his father's art career, especially in Muskoka. I knew the story of Richard Karon Sr., but most of it was based on the actuality of numerous events, exhibitions, and contact, while his studio was still operational.

     I realized as soon as we began exchanging emails, that he would benefit from my participation, because there were things I knew, and people I had talked to, shortly after the artist's death, in 1987, that would shed some light on some details, the younger Richard needed to know about. As a newspaperman during the lated 1970's and 80's, I picked up news tips wherever I happened to be…..and for Richard Karon, the artist, that came during his mid-1980's auction sale of his remaining art, and the official closing of his studio. I knew something was seriously wrong that day, and when I talked to the artist's friend, Eva Scheel, shortly after reading a notice of the artist's death, (several years later) there was no doubt in my mind, this story would turn and confront me one day……as I had long admired his landscapes, and wanted his name to remain etched in local history, in respect to his contributions to art and culture in Muskoka. When Eva told me how sad he had been to leave his studio and home, in the Township of Lake of Bays, it confirmed for me, what had happened during the auction sale……when the pall over the event seemed to affect everyone……certainly those who knew the artist.

     Auction goers generally, are very sensitive to the prevailing situation, and why the auction is being held, in the first place. I can't really explain why, but it may be in the fact, that in those days, attending auctions regularly was a social event, as it was business for many of us dealer-kind. The same people showed up at every sale, and it became like a club. There were always newbies but they soon fell in with the regulars, and word went around about the nature and circumstances of the sale. The artist was upset this day, and no one who knew him, could offer any consolation that might have made him feel better. His marriage hadn't worked out. That's not unusual. It's pretty commonplace, in fact. Richard Karon had to be close to his son. That was the bottom line. Art wasn't as important as being close to his family. Being separated was problem enough for the family. He didn't need three to four hours of traveling time between him and his wife and son. Financially it was a necessary move. Emotionally, it was a necessary move. Enduring the stress of the move, was necessary as well.

     It would take me hours to explain to the artist's son, why I knew that we would eventually connect after all these years. In the two years' lapse, between the first time he contacted me, and January of this year, we had zero time to even think about taking on any research projects. My father had a stroke and even before he passed away, we had to close-out his apartment, and make plans for his accommodations in a nursing home. He never made it to that point, and died in hospital. The coincidence here, is that a Richard Karon original hung on the wall above his favorite chair in the apartment. He had worked with the artist in the early 1970's, when he was employed as an estimator and sales manager for Building Trades Centre, in Bracebridge, and had been on his studio property many times, doing measurements for windows, doors and cupboards. I suppose he also arranged for the lumber as well. My dad always told me that I should do a story on Richard Karon one day, when I worked for the newspaper, as he thought he was not only a good artist, but an easy person to talk with. That day of the auction, I purchased a number of framed landscapes off Richard, who was still manning his studio sales desk, and Ed picked the one he wanted for over his chair. Even when they shifted apartments, three times, the Richard Karon original, was always hung above my father's chair. I remember telling him, before he got sick, that I was planning to do some work for Karon's son, at some point, and he seemed quite pleased. "Tell him I enjoyed working with his father, won't you," I recall him saying. And I have. Numerous times. Sometimes fate does stuff like this……things we just can't explain, and just do because it feels right. When Richard got back to me, after a several year hiatus, I was already signed on, before we'd shaken hands. This was a project that had to happen, and being a big believer in the afterlife, I half assumed Richard had met up with Ed in that other dimension, and thought it would be a swell idea to finish what had been a decent plan a long time ago……that I do a story on a Muskoka artist, and the artist's son act as my co-writer and research assistant. As Richard worked with my father on his art studio project, here we were then, decades later, "two sons" with a final chapter to write, as if by providential necessity, to complete some ethereal circle. I warned my associate, that we would make some interesting connections, and have many serendipitous moments throughout the research, and well into the future, that would put people into our lives we could not have anticipated from the beginning. It has already happened in part. My gut feeling is, there's something in Poland that is beckoning the young Karon, and I told him, before I wrote the first word of this biography, that he would one day, be making a pilgrimage to his father's home. He might still think this is outlandish, and impossible at this point in his life, but I'm pretty sure, as the elder Karon had always wanted to return to see his family, he will give some encouragement from the "great beyond," that his son should make the trip he was denied by illness. One day!

     The younger Richard Karon is a frequent flier, as a charter jet pilot. He was away for a number of days, and I had to move on with the biography without his concluding words. I was so happy he still wanted them published on this blog site, to wrap-up the biography of his father. As I promised earlier, and I couldn't deliver because of a computer glitch, I have included this precious photograph of his young daughter Aurora, looking through her grandfather's easel, at the Lake of Bays studio of Muskoka artist, Janet Stahle-Fraser (near Baysville). The artist was kind enough to invite Richard into her studio, to see and photograph his father's easel, that he had given her shortly after closing his own studio / gallery. It was a puzzle piece found, as the younger Richard had asked many times, where the easel had gone, and each lead he followed, had proven wrong. Richard was ecstatic after the visit, and very thankful for Janet's kindnesses bestowed. The photograph, to me, says it all, as a chapter unto itself. That despite what the biography wears, seemingly as only misfortune and displeasure, hardship and suffering, it arrives, with great positivism, at an optimistic outlook for the future; a portal onto great adventures yet to come. From the encouragement of a loving family, this young lady, will come to welcome all the possibilities of a wonderful, remarkable life……and be richer in spirit, knowing more about the grandfather she never met. Being able to feel, for a lifetime, a connection to a beautiful place on earth, a link to Muskoka; feel those enchantments of nature, her artist grandfather thrived-on, and inherit the will and courage that Richard Karon demonstrated throughout his life…..for freedom of art, and liberation of spirit. I must again, thank the Karon family, for having permitted me to work on this important biography, which hopefully will benefit researchers and painting owners for years to come. Now in the words of my associate in this project…..Richard Sahoff Karon.

I have to begin by giving my most sincere, heartfelt thanks to Ted Currie and his wife Suzanne, for their time and effort on my father’s biography.  Words cannot begin to show my immense gratitude for this gift, I have waited a lifetime for.  I would also like to thank Robert, Ted and Suzanne’s son and Dani O'Connor, for their contribution with the video.  The help from family and friends in filling in the details, and their help in furthering my research has been truly priceless.  I also would like to extend my thanks to the many people who so quickly and enthusiastically responded to Ted’s article in the newspaper, seeking any information or comments on my father’s work, including Ms. L, who so warmly invited me into her house to admire, alongside her, two of my father’s paintings. I would also like to thank Baysville artist, Janet Stahle-Fraser, who is the current user of my father’s easel, and who without hesitation offered me the easel.  

Since my father’s death 25 years ago, I have longed to keep his legacy alive in my heart and mind.  There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him.  The opportunity to write my father’s biography in conjunction with someone who was himself so enamoured by my father’s work and had actually met him, was something that I simply could not pass up.  The timing of this project also could not have happened at a more opportune time, as I was contacted only late last year, for the first time in my life, by my father’s family members.  They had no idea of my father’s passing or even knowledge of my existence.  I had so many questions that had built up over the years that were finally beginning to get answered.  I finally found out for example that my father was the youngest of four siblings, and the only son.  I saw a photograph of my grandmother, his mother for the first time only a few months ago.  I am now sharing with them the story of my father, a man who through so many unbelievable hardships was able to make a living at what he loved, and in such a peaceful, beautiful setting.

I have always admired my father’s work, and am so pleased to see that it is at last getting the recognition it deserves.  As Ted mentions, not only does his work capture the spirit of the beautiful locations which he painted, but his story of how he got to where he did is astounding.  I have met some people recently who are still awe struck by his paintings, and it really is wonderful to hear.  To me he was simply my father, and he was an artist who painted beautiful paintings; I didn’t think there was anything uncommon about it.  Of course to many young boys, their father is larger than life.  I am no exception to this rule, and continue to admire his work and accomplishments.  I have nearly 40 pieces of his work, many of them hanging on my walls at home.  I feel like they’re watching over me.  About 10 years ago I was given 3 of his paintings by a co-worker, Peter Freake, whom I worked with at Air Canada in Toronto.  Through conversation it was determined that he had 3 of my father’s pieces, and that I was his son.  He told me how his mother had an art gallery in Toronto, and had sold several of my father’s pieces.  I believe they knew each other, as my understanding was, that she came up to the studio in Baysville to buy them.  These particular paintings hung in Peter’s home.  When he determined my relation to the artist, he had no hesitation in giving me the paintings.  Sadly Peter passed away a few years ago, but I will never forget his generosity and cherish these paintings which now hang in my home.  He spoke of all the years those paintings hung on his wall, and the joy they brought him and his family.  

I don’t know how to begin to thank all the people involved in helping with this biography.  It has been such an amazing few months, with new discoveries and stories about my father surfacing regularly.   It is difficult to lose one’s parents at any age, but as my father’s only child, and having him pass away at such a young age, without knowing very much about his life story, it has left a huge hole in my life.  My mother tells me of how her father passed away when she was in her thirties, but that he was never there for her and she reminds me of how lucky I was to have a father who loved me so much, regardless of how little time I had with him.  I remember him as a good father, with lots of love for me, although I do remember him having a temper as well.  My mother and father’s relationship was not an easy one.  She puts a lot of blame on the events that shaped him during WWII.  Although I would say that I can see how each one of them might be difficult to live with, I cannot image the horrors my father witnessed during that time and what kind of a man he would have been if he did not go through that.  In this regard I can side with my mother, that what is now known as post traumatic stress disorder, was evident in his life and how he reacted to the world around him.  My mother also mentions that I brought great joy to his life, as since he had lost contact with his family in Poland, I was now his only blood relative.  He was very protective of me for this reason; my mother also claims in her opinion that he spoiled me.  Of course I don’t remember things that way!  Looking back, and as I learn more of his character and the events that shaped his life, I can see how he did become a very reputable artist; in fact he was able to do many things well.  I remember that he was a good cook, a skilled carpenter, he spoke several languages Polish, English and I’m quite sure French and German as well, unfortunately he never taught me.  This is beginning to be evident, I regret, with the raising of my daughter, as I speak Spanish and French and have not taught her as much as I should have, but I am trying to improve.  

Although I did not experience the hardships that my father went through, I am his son, and as I learn more about him I am beginning to see more of myself in him.  I miss him tremendously.  I hope that those of you who have his pieces continue to cherish and enjoy them.  A piece of my father is in each one.

Richard Karon Part 11

RICHARD KARON BIOGRAPHY - OUR CONCLUSION IS ACTUALLY OUR BEGINNING

THE LEGACY OF A MUSKOKA ARTIST -

     The cycle of life. This blog-biography has been written in journal format. Daily entries. Carrying inadvertent judgements about good or inclement weather, and how it affects my arthritic fingers. Curious activities in the neighborhood. They always inspire me to be happy or angry. Like when a chainsaw is being wielded by a neighbor, unfamiliar with the lot lines, between his property and ours. All with the burden of strange moods, like wearing a cat on my shoulders, but feeling obliged to let fate run its course. I am not an island, you see, and each day brings about new interests, and initiatives I wish to launch. I get bored easily, so I try to self-inspire by reading and walking in the woods, numerous times each day.

     I have incorporated updates on the weather, what it was like during my walks down into the boglands, here at Birch Hollow, in the Town of Gravenhurst, and included news of the recent passing of an old friend here, by the name of John Black, who worked with me when I was an editor with Muskoka Publications. I most recently learned of the passing, of another friend, and former hockey teammate, Kim Hammond of Bracebridge, and this has been within one week, while finishing up the text of this biography of Muskoka Artist Richard Karon. I awoke this morning, at 5:30 a.m., to get a head start on this final chapter, only to find one of our house cats, named Fester, on the brink of her demise, and Suzanne and I spent the final hours of her life, passing her from one lap to the other, until the end. I buried her in a level bit of ground near where the trilliums will soon burst through the soft earth, and blossom in the May sunlight. I stood out in our little woodlot, listening to the chatter of birds and squirrels in the overhead boughs, thinking about the cycle of life, and how despite the passing of one life, budding new existence is in evidence all around me. Every day that I have sat at this keyboard, I have been influenced by all kinds of events and activities in this house, on our property, and over in the calming woods, situated above The Bog, here on Segwun Boulevard. Some days I have wound up here, at this old and familiar desk, full of vim and vinegar, and sat for hours typing the Karon biography. On other days, I've had several of our other rescue cats (that had been dumped in our neighborhood), resting on my lap, or on the window sill, their gentle, non-intrusive purring, settling my impatience to get more done, at a faster pace.

    There have been other times when I felt the urgent need to wander through the woods, and experienced some unanticipated resentment, having to work all day to meet deadlines. On other occasions, with Mozart playing in the background, I felt as if I was born to write. The next day, the complete opposite. I hated being a writer. After having just buried our own bandy-legged wee beastie, we called Fester, inspired by the Addams Family, I didn't feel up to writing at all. I stared out the window, trance-like, for what must have been a half hour. All of a sudden, just before making a decision to take the day off, I had this thought about the cycle of life, and how I've written this biography in journal format…..so that I would reflect the mood of the moment…..the light and shadow of each day. This was intentional, because I wanted it to be personal. While it would seem preposterous to put news of a cat's death, into the body copy of a book, as it was unrelated to the story, it wasn't so ridiculous to include the event in this blog……at this moment. And after I'd decided to make a little tribute, to my old friend Fester, I felt better.

   Writing has always been a release for me, in this regard. Funny thing, though, that after eleven chapters of the biography, about the personal challenges of being an artist, I had just put myself in the very same position, as Mr. Karon had found himself in…….throughout his artistic career. He had to paint through the same fluctuations of inspiration and moodiness, contentment and frustration, happiness and sadness……, that I have experienced and worked through, every day of this biography, from early January. Without thinking about it before, it took the last of an old cat's nine lives, to make me realize the actuality of the creative process. What Karon faced each day, to produce his landscapes, I had been subtly etched, by precisely the same ups and downs, of too much inspiration, or not enough. I sat for a few moments pondering this epiphany. Realizing that every mood I studied, about the artist, was exactly the same enterprise, that I was utilizing to write his biography. On positive days, when I felt rested and excited about the day's work, I'd write twice as much, with a lot fewer corrections to deal with when editing. When I found myself, by circumstance, melancholy, and frustrated, I not only wrote less, but had hours of work, to correct mistakes. I thought about Karon having thrown still wet, rolled-up canvases into storage, because he was unhappy with his work that day. I often re-wrote chapters three times to make improvements. Of course, that is the forgiveness of a computer screen versus stretched canvas.

Richard Karon in the forest

     "There is serene and settled majesty in woodland scenery, that enters into the soul, and dilates and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations," wrote Washington Irving, in his book, "Bracebridge Hall." "They are haunted by the recollections of great spirits of past ages, who have sought for relaxation among them from the tumult of arms, or the toils of state, or have wooed the muse beneath their shade."

     For well more than a decade now, I have kept this book, by Washington Irving, on my desk, no further than my outstretched arm. I purchased it, in the late 1990's, when I was doing research regarding the official naming of the Town of Bracebridge. The name came from Irving's book, as granted by Postal Authority, William Dawson LeSueur. LeSueur of course, gave the fledgling post office its name, as a tribute to a great author of the time……and as much, a gesture of goodwill, for the future prosperity of a pioneer settlement. A name with considerable literary provenance, to one of the best known authors of the day, a parallel talent to writer Charles Dickens. LeSueur when he wasn't administering business for the federal postal department, was also making a name for himself, as a literary critic and historian. While it's been about 14 years since I started my research on Irving, and LeSueur, it's been roughly the same time, trying to convince the Town of Bracebridge they should be proud of their namesake. Hasn't happened yet. I'm not hopeful either. Point is, I found the writings of Mr. Irving to fit my own moods and outlooks, and I consult it frequently for inspiration. When I would pause to think about Richard Karon's landscapes, and about the panoramas he captured in the Township of Lake of Bays, I might find little gems like the following, that reminded me how storied our woodlands have been throughout history.

     "As the leaves of trees are said to absorb all noxious qualities of the air, and to breathe forth a purer atmosphere, so it seems to me as if they drew from us all sordid and angry passions, and breathed forth peace and philanthropy," wrote the American author, creator of the famous "Legend of Sleepy Holly," and "Rip Van Winkle."

     I wish, for the preparation of this biography, I had enjoyed the company of the painter himself. It would have been so much more insightful and complete, if I had even been able to read notes, he might have penned into a personal journal. I would have been contented to have read anything, the man had thought important enough to jot down, even hastily, on notes he made of paintings, and sizes he required for wood framing. For much of this, I have depended on the word of others. I've spent a lot of time and research, looking at the circumstances of his life, and his travels in Europe and to North America, without a shred of hard evidence, other than the papers he filed as a "displaced person" seeking refuge in Canada. While the Karon family has been very generous with all the information they possessed, and have held nothing back, that would help fulfill this biography, it is still the case, much of the story has been diminished because the artist, himself, didn't play a key role in the editorial content. The same situation, occurred for me, during the preparation of the biography for Outdoor Education Teacher / Canadian book collector, David Brown, of Hamilton. I needed Dave Brown at my side, because everything else had to come from friends and associates. He appointed me as his biography, and died before we had written the first word of chapter one. Dave didn't leave any journals behind, that would have helped me with actuality, and the personal integrity of the biography. It became my story, and the story as recalled by others. The same can be said for Richard Karon, that my regret remains, I didn't have the chance to conduct a sit-down discussion, in person, to converse candidly, about the artist's interests and objectives.

     As a matter of some irony, after twelve years, I have only just recently, received a large contribution of editorial material, regarding Dave Brown, and his Camp Comack (Haliburton) days, working as an outdoor instructor. These reminiscences came from a long time friend who contacted me recently, referencing what I had already written about our mutual friend. He hadn't been aware that Dave had passed away, in the late 1990's, as he had been in Western Canada. The information that he provided me, while late, is still very relevant to the story of this well known outdoor educator…..and will be used in biographical updates. I'm sincerely hoping this will be the case with Richard Karon, that new information will be submitted in the years to come, to infill what we presently don't know about his early years as an artist, traveling in Europe. The great advantage of composing this as an online biography, is that it can be easily updated and revised, as new information becomes available. As with Mr. Brown's book, I'm not likely to reprint it, but rather, bring it to cyberspace as well, so it to can be upgraded with newfound material when available.

     There is a dog eared letter, pasted into the scrapbook, Richard Karon kept for his cut-out press reviews, that deserves special mention. It was dated the second of November 1976, and was written by an individual who had read an article, published in the North Bay Nugget, about one of the artist's exhibitions. It may be the case, this art admirer also saw one of his paintings up close, possibly at a North Bay showing, but didn't actually approach the artist at this time. The letter is poorly written, somewhat difficult to read, and eccentric, but Karon found something important about the message within. It obviously contained something he identified with, because it is pasted side-by-side letters of thanks, from Frank Henry, former administrator of South Muskoka Memorial Hospital, recognizing the gift, of an original painting, the artist had just recently presented to the health-care facility. It begins, "Mr. Karon. Please be kind enough to read me. Sunday afternoon, again I was moved by your painting. Now to read how, you too, have been out of a job, penniless, also exiled from your country, because you have great courage; and with hard work and perseverance, you've done it. I will go on alone; the example of your life gives me the assurance that I've done well, to leave everything behind, to paint with oxygen. Well, I just want to say, I admire your courage - love your skies - thanks for being you - a person in a million, who is still able to impress me; a person (the letter writer) who has suffered, to conquer threats myself, in the beauty of the hour, leaving forever. One can be so lonely, in this field of time, to keep a vestige of a moment in color, of a deep emotion, surrounded by futility in this world of over-consumption - when the true soul is forever a foreigner. Thanks again and accept my respect."

     The Richard Karon biography has been remarkable in many ways, and very much different from others I have worked on, during the past twenty years. I was, quite frankly, unsettled, at the beginning of the project, to find out that this significant Muskoka artist, had been buried in relative obscurity, away from the District he loved so much. Without reference, at graveside, to him having been an established Canadian Artist, and a friend of Muskoka, seemed reason enough to start making amends…..for what we should have done, in his memory, much earlier than this. Even his obituary, in the local press, in March 1987, wasn't more than a few paragraphs of very few words. I have no idea now, whether I wrote anything in The Muskoka Sun, The Muskoka Advance or The Herald-Gazette, of which I was an editor at the time of his death. I can't imagine having let this event go without acknowledgement, but I long-ago, sent off my paper files for re-cycling. What should have been front page news, was relegated to the community news, and I realize how we missed an important opportunity, to celebrate a storied and accomplished life.

     I know the family is considering some type of memorial tribute, to the work of Richard Karon, in the Village of Baysville, but as of yet it hasn't been finally determined, what would be most suitable, and appropriate, to remind citizens and seasonal residents, of the landscapes he was best known.

     I would like to thank all the kind folks who helped us out, during the course of this research, with stories and images of original Karon paintings in their possession. They have helped us build a resource for the future, and it is already being sought out by those interested in the artist's life. It has been submitted, of course, to both the National Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Ontario, for their respective reference libraries…..for use by researchers in the future. I want to add special thanks to Muskoka artist Janet Stahle-Fraser, of the Township of Lake of Bays, for sharing, with the artist's son, and his daughter, Mr. Karon's original easel, which he gave to her shortly after closing his studio in the mid 1980's. The photograph with today's summation, of the Karon Biography, shows the artist's granddaughter, Aurora, peeking through the easel, still being used by the Lake of Bays artist. The background, of course, is Janet's studio setting. The meeting occurred in March, and it was certainly a highlight for Richard Sahoff Karon, as he had been searching for the elusive easel for many years.

     One art patron, who possesses several Karon originals, invited the young Karon and myself, to her house to see his father's paintings, and the hospitality we were shown, was generous and heart-warming. She asked only that her name not be used. Just having the opportunity to see how she had hung these paintings in a pine-clad Muskoka room, made us feel pretty good, about the respect his work was still garnering, years after his death. Both paintings were of waterscapes in close vicinity to Baysville.

     We had many kind notes and so many offers to visit, to see his major paintings, in homes across the district. We made this connection, in large part, thanks to the kindness of our regional newspaper, The Weekender, which published two of our requests for information on Mr. Karon. The responses were amazing, and at least half of this biography, and the available art images, came courtesy The Weekender's readership. Only hours after the first request was published, and the free Friday papers being delivered to the driveways throughout the district, we had begun receiving emails, and all kinds of offers of assistance, we couldn't have anticipated from just a Letter to the Editor. It was almost non-stop for two full weeks, and it literally gave the biography its wings.

     My son Robert and his musical partner, Dani O'Connor, of Gravenhurst, provided the music for the tribute video, which I hope you will take time to watch again. Robert did the filming and created the video. Dani provided the vocals.

     Here is a list of those friends of this biography, who offered us, on loan, images of their Richard Karon paintings; Joyce A. Medley, Beverley J. Robinson, Ches. and Betty Fulton, Shirley Bullock, Marilyn MacDougall, Kristina Campbell, Lois and Barry Swan, Ken and Cheryl Mann, Leigh Beal, Ike Kelneck, Peter Jackson, Ellen Gofforth and Rhoda Moeller and the collection of paintings owned by Richard Sahoff Karon. If we have left your name off this list we have done so inadvertently. Please let us know we have left your name off and we will make the correction.