Sold for: $41,300

PROVENANCE
Alfred Laliberté, Quebec
Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal
Kenneth G. Heffel Fine Art Inc., Vancouver
Peter and Joanne Brown Collection, Vancouver, acquired from the above in 1986

Clarence Gagnon’s landscapes, filled with colour and light, are among the delights of early Canadian painting. His first encounter with the region of Baie-Saint-Paul was as early as 1902 when he was just 21 years old, and his affection for the region would not wane in his lifetime. He visited often to sketch for lengthy periods and settled there in 1912, after he returned from travels in England and France. In both winter and summer, the multicoloured houses and winding river in Baie-Saint-Paul would provide a variety of visual charms, and these elements were a constant in Gagnon’s work. This scene is especially significant, as we can read Gagnon’s inscription "à mon ami Laliberté" on the lower left. Sculptor Alfred Laliberté had been teaching at the Conseil des arts et manufactures in Montreal since 1897, and Gagnon enrolled in drawing classes there in 1898 and 1899. Over the next few decades, Gagnon and Laliberté would move in the same circles and exhibit with the same societies. The charm of this work lies not only in its visual appeal, but also in the inscribed acknowledgment of the friendship of two of Canada’s foundational artists.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars