LOT 139

CGP OSA PRCA
1898 - 1967
Canadian

Twilight, Place d'Armes, Quebec
oil on canvas
signed and on verso signed, titled and dated 1967
19 x 24 in, 48.3 x 61 cm

Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000 CAD

Sold for: $61,250

Preview at:

PROVENANCE
Sold sale of Canadian Art, Joyner Fine Art, May 13, 1994, lot 35
Private Collection, Ontario
Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 27, 2017, lot 139
Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
A.K. Prakash, Impressionism in Canada: A Journey of Rediscovery, 2015, page 632


This is a classic, sought-after subject by Canadian Impressionist Robert Pilot—an urban winter scene at the twilight hour, with traditional Quebec architecture and a historic horse-drawn cabstand. Along with his fellow Canadian Impressionist artists, such as his stepfather Maurice Cullen and his teacher William Brymner, Pilot brought into Canadian painting the French art movement, with its practice of painting en plein air and its emphasis on atmosphere, colour and light. In later life, as he may have here, Pilot reworked some of the sketches from his early years—as he explained, “Letting myself go in an effort to capture the essential poetry of the scene I had worked on in my youth.” In Twilight, Place d’Armes, Quebec, Pilot’s palette of soft blues and greys recreates the ambient light at the end of day, accentuated by the glowing street lights. The cabstand with its accents of orange and brown draws the eye to the background, as does the path running alongside with its mottled impressions of sled runners and footprints. Pilot’s sensitive rendering of form with dappled brush-strokes and the icy luminescence of his blues are particularly exquisite.


Estimate: $60,000 - $80,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


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