Sold for: $52,650

PROVENANCE
A gift from the Artist to a Private Collector, Quebec
By descent to the present Private Collection, Montreal

LITERATURE
Gabrielle Roy and Jean Paul Lemieux, La petite poule d'eau, 1971, editor Gilles Corbeil, limited edition of 200, reproduced, unpaginated
Marcel Dubé, Jean Paul Lemieux et le livre, 1988, pages 64 - 65, reproduced page 59
Marie Carani, Jean Paul Lemieux, Musée du Quebec, 1992, the related 1971 canvas entitled La maison des Lousignant [sic] reproduced page 220, catalogue #89
Gaëtan Brulotte, L'univers de Jean Paul Lemieux, 1996, page 141

In 1970 Jean Paul Lemieux was commissioned to produce a series of illustrations based on Canadian writer Gabrielle Roy’s famed novel La petite poule d’eau (Where Nests the Water Hen). In total, he produced 20 artworks, which were reproduced as colour lithographs in the limited edition collector’s album. This is a rare original painting from this series, in which Lemieux depicts the house of Luzina Tousignant, the matriarch of a family of early pioneers who had established themselves in a remote settlement in Manitoba. Although he painted only a few nocturnal winter scenes in his career, they are charged with a dramatic narrative intensity. Central to the novel is the bravery of the pioneers, who were determined to live in an isolated and inhospitable territory, which is represented by Lemieux with great effectiveness. The night sky is an overwhelming dark volume occupying most of the picture plane. The frozen land beneath it is skilfully evoked by a horizontal section painted with bright white-based pigments, and at the horizon are the geometric shapes of the distant buildings. Simple yet evocative, this scene perfectly demonstrates Lemieux’s mastery of landscape composition.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars