Sold for: $100,300

PROVENANCE
A gift from the Artist to Mrs. Irwin, 1914
Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., Vancouver
Peter and Joanne Brown Collection, Vancouver, acquired from the above in 1987

Clarence Gagnon arrived in 1904 in Paris, where his encounter with the work of the Impressionists liberated his palette, paving the way for the light, vibrant use of colour that we see here. On his return to Quebec in 1908, he spent time in Saint-Joachim and Baie-Saint-Paul in Charlevoix county, and this area was the source for some of Gagnon’s most important works. In both colour and composition, this exquisite oil sketch is a quintessential Quebec winter scene by Gagnon. Hiver à Charlevoix showcases his extraordinary abilities as a colourist—snow is not merely white, but infused with tints of pastel pink, flesh, green and blue. The surface of the snow is radiant, the blue in particular casting an icy incandescence. Rich hues are everywhere, from the emerald tones in the icy edges of the stream to the purple-infused hills up to the mauve and creamy orange in the clouds. Typical of his depictions of Charlevoix, this small settlement is nestled into a valley traversed by the sinuous curves of a stream and backed by the Laurentian Mountains—in Gagnon’s crystallized vision of this peaceful Quebec countryside.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars