PROVENANCE
Dominion Gallery, Montreal, 1948
Private Collection, Ontario
Canadian Art, Bonhams Canada, December 2, 2008, lot 51
The Collection of Torben V. Kristiansen, Vancouver

A.Y. Jackson’s affection for the rural scenery of Quebec meant that he spent many spring seasons on the northern shores of the St. Lawrence, painting the buildings and countryside of the region. This oil sketch, which Jackson boldly titled on the verso, was certainly painted before 1955, when he left the Studio Building in Toronto. Although we are unsure of its exact date, the painting displays a confidence of execution that suggests an image from either the late 1920s or early 1930s.

The oil sketch depicts a farmstead in the grip of winter snow. The scene is animated by Jackson’s inclusion of a habitant guiding his sleigh along the road. The snowy hillside behind the house and barns is lit with gentle sunlight. The viewer’s eye is led into the depths of the composition through a movement from shadow into light and the telling placement of a tree halfway up the rolling hillside behind the farm buildings. Our eye then rises to the high horizon and the vivid blue sky above. Jackson has taken care to paint the farmhouse on the left in more detail—the two dormers, windows, chimney and yellow door define the building as the warm heart and domestic centre of the farm.

For the biography on Torben V. Kristiansen in PDF format, please click here.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars