Sold for: $31,250

PROVENANCE
Walter Stewart, Toronto
By descent to a Private Collection
Sold sale of Canadian Fine Art, Joyner / Waddington's, May 31, 2005, lot 79
Winchester Galleries, Victoria
Collection of Laurie Guthrie, Edmonton

This rare winter night scene by A.Y. Jackson has a charming story. According to a previous owner, a young girl who lived in the house where Jackson was staying watched him paint this scene. When he left the table, the girl picked up his brush and added a star. On Jackson’s return, he was delighted by the addition and left it in. The artist painted Émileville in late winter on several occasions, with prolonged trips documented in 1913 and 1915, when he boarded with the Guertin family, whose hospitality he greatly enjoyed.

This night scene is a bold painting with fascinating light effects. The moon casts strong shadows from the bare tree and illuminates the colours of the houses. The night sky full of stars is stunning – you can feel their sparkle. In contrast, a patch of light from a window spills across the snow, evoking the warmth of human presence. On verso is a depiction of a snowy hillside flooded with sunshine. Jackson was known to paint on both sides of a board when he was running low on his supply of wood panels, and this lot presents a fine opportunity to acquire a double-sided oil sketch.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars