A Look Inside: Historic North Vancouver home of Group of Seven painter listed for sale (PHOTOS)
A historic home in North Vancouver District that was once the residence of Group of Seven painter Frederick Varley is on the market.
RE/MAX Rossetti Realty has listed the property at 4395 Rice Lake Road — next to Lynn Canyon, near the 30 Foot Pool — for $799,000.
The 1920-built home sits on a 3,000-sq-ft lot, and is enclosed by rainforest. The house is directly accessible to some of the North Shore’s most popular walking and hiking trails.
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The modest two-storey structure has 1,299 sq. ft. of total floor area, complete with two bedrooms and one bathroom.
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
The listing states the residence has maintained much of its “charm and character” over the past century, with the main floor renovated in 2012, providing an open plan with overheight ceilings, and an overhauled kitchen with stone counters and stainless steel appliances.
The living room’s centrepiece is a workable Efel cast iron gas fireplace for wintertime heating. The dining room features french doors that provide access to the rear of the home.
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
Private outdoor spaces on the property include a terraced pathway, front porch, and a backyard, where Varley is said to have painted some of his most famous pieces.
He is one of the founders of the Group of Seven, a group of Canadian landscape painters that include Emily Carr. As a collective, they went on to create some of the country’s most celebrated art work.
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
According to Sensational Vancouver, Varley first discovered the house in 1932, while sketching in North Vancouver.
“He noticed a small house high up on the bank of Lynn Creek. He walked around the place, peered in the windows and saw that it was deserted. The boxy little house was in rough condition,” reads an excerpt.
“It had porches tacked on to the front and back and an unfinished room on the main floor. He climbed up on the verandah and looked out over the valley and saw Mt. Seymour and Lynn Peak. When he looked down he saw a deep narrow canyon below.”
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
His art school failed during the Great Depression, his family was evicted from two homes they rent in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood, and they eventually decided to move to North Vancouver’s Lynn Valley area.
The house came with a piano and was available for $8.00 per month. The location allowed him to commute to Vancouver by streetcar and ferry.
From the second storey window of the house, Varley is said to have painted Dharana, Birth of Clouds, Lynn Creek, The Trail to Rice Lake, and Weather-Lynn Valley.
Varley died in Toronto in 1969, and the house stayed in the family until 1974.
BC Assessment has provided the property with an assessed value of $646,300, with $628,000 for the land and $18,300 for the structure.
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
4395 Rice Lake Road, North Vancouver. (RE/MAX Rossetti Realty)
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