Sold for: $28,125

PROVENANCE
Acquired from the Artist's family
By descent to a Private Collection
Sold sale of Canadian Art, Joyner Fine Art, November 23, 1993, lot 55
Roberts Gallery, Toronto
Waddington & Gorce Inc., Toronto
Galerie Valentin, Quebec
Masters Gallery Ltd., Calgary
Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Anne McDougall, Anne Savage: The Story of a Canadian Painter, 1977, page 81

Anne Savage was one of the founding members of the Beaver Hall Group, which coalesced in Montreal from 1920 to 1922. Savage was one of the core women artists of this group who continued to exhibit together. She was also one of the founders of the Canadian Group of Painters and was a close friend of Group of Seven painter A.Y. Jackson. Métis, a charming resort village on the St. Lawrence River, was often visited by Savage. As a child she spent summers there with her family, and she later returned on summer holidays to paint the village and its surrounding countryside while staying with her sister, Mrs. Earl Birks. Savage recalled, “I think I only did about six big canvases of Métis but I kept a reference library of twenty good sketches to make into paintings.” The groups of children are the charming focus of this fine oil sketch, which also features the distinctive village church and a pocket view of the St. Lawrence River, its whitecaps indicating a fresh breeze. Bold brush-strokes define the elements of the scene with a robust sense of volume, and vivid colour adds vibrancy.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars