Sold for: $43,250

PROVENANCE
Dr. J. Parnell, Vancouver
Private Collection, British Columbia
By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia

LITERATURE
A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country: The Autobiography of A.Y. Jackson, 1958, page 61

In the spring of 1927, A.Y. Jackson sketched the quaint villages along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River with Dr. Frederick Banting. In his autobiography, Jackson recounts that “this was Banting’s first experience of painting out of doors in wintertime. It was March, but there was no sign of spring, and we were working in very exposed country.… Banting persisted, though it was an ordeal for him. I found him one day crouched behind a rail fence, the snow drifting into his sketch box and his hands so cold he could hardly work.… Later, we went to Bic … Here the spring found us and we painted the melting snows.”

Jackson captures the enchanting village of Bic amidst its transition from winter to spring; the warm sunlit earth and russet hills peek through the iridescent snowmelt as a distant sleigh travels along the winding path into town. The Road to Bic is a vibrant example of Jackson’s Quebec village scenes produced during the Group of Seven period and beautifully conveys his enduring appreciation for the rich landscape of rural Quebec.

This work comes with stellar provenance. Dr. Jack Parnell was Lawren S. Harris's doctor and a friend of A.Y. Jackson.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars