PROVENANCE
Premier Joseph-Adélard Godbout, Quebec
A Distinguished Private Collection, Ontario

The lives and activities of Quebec’s Indigenous population were of great interest to Cornelius Krieghoff. An immigrant to North America, Krieghoff spent time in both Canada and the United States. Most of his work, however, was focused on the lives of Québécois habitants and the Indigenous peoples of that province. Indian Portage, which formerly belonged to Quebec premier Joseph-Adélard Godbout (1892 – 1956), is an excellent example of Krieghoff’s keen observational skills.

We see his close attention to the details of the large birchbark canoe and the packs that have been unloaded, one of which is already on the back of an Indigenous man to be portaged around the river rapids. The striking contrast between the still waters of the foreground and the turbulence of the main stream beyond clearly conveys the reason for the portage. Although Krieghoff has made the portage the subject of his canvas, he devotes much attention to the glories of the forest on both sides of the river. The changing colours of the deciduous trees suggest early fall. The bright red of the tree above the leading portageur draws our eye into the composition, which has a remarkable sense of reality. With technical precision and his highly developed skills as a landscape painter, Krieghoff depicts this riverside scene with such virtuosity that we can almost hear its rushing waters and sense its fresh autumn atmosphere.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars