PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the Artist, 1903
James Morgan, Montreal
Private Collection, London
Private Collection, Calgary
Sold sale of Important Canadian Art, Joyner / Waddington's, May 27, 2011, lot 60
Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Hélène Sicotte and Michèle Grandbois, Clarence Gagnon, 1881 - 1942: Dreaming the Landscape, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, 2006, page 38
Charles C. Hill et al., Artists, Architects and Artisans: Canadian Art 1890 - 1918, National Gallery of Canada, 2013, reproduced page 164

EXHIBITED
Morgan’s Department Store, Montreal, Clarence Gagnon, 1904
Art Association of Montreal, Royal Canadian Academy, 25th Annual Exhibition, March 17, 1904, catalogue #65
World’s Fair, St. Louis, Missouri, Canadian Section of the Department of Art, April 30 – December 1, 1904, catalogue #31
Art Association of Montreal, Canadian Pictures Returned from the St. Louis Exhibition, January 5 - 14, 1905, catalogue #4
Galleries of Henry Morgan and Company, Montreal, Paintings, Etchings, Japanese Prints, China, Etc., May 15 - 30, 1907, titled as Weaving Rag Carpets, Beaupre, QC, catalogue #18
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Artists, Architects and Artisans: Canadian Art 1890 - 1918, October 25, 2013 - January 26, 2014, catalogue #195

At the turn of the century, the European Barbizon and Hague schools had a strong influence on collectors and artists in Montreal, including Clarence Gagnon, who viewed works in this style in Art Association of Montreal exhibitions between 1898 and 1903. These paintings depicted rural landscapes and peasants working, using a predominantly dark palette. Also prevalent at this time was the philosophy of English designer, poet and social activist William Morris, who supported the revival of British textile arts and methods of production through the Arts and Crafts Movement. Hélène Sicotte wrote that Gagnon “was naturally drawn to a conception of art that combines traditional crafts, the decorative arts and architecture.” At this time Gagnon was visiting Île d’Orléans and Côte-de-Beaupré, rustic areas where the spirit of old France was still strong and crafts were produced with traditional methods. Weaving Rag Carpets, with its subject of a weaver at her loom, embodies these ideals. Gagnon’s use of light is masterful – it pours in from the window and lights up the darkness, highlighting the woman’s labours and creating a warm atmosphere in this rich canvas.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars