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LOT 143

CAC RCA
1865 - 1924
Canadian

Harvest Time—Brittany
oil on board, circa 1892 - 1894
on verso signed, titled, inscribed "M189" and with the Dominion Gallery inventory #B3026 and stamped with the F.R. Heaton estate stamp and with the Dominion Gallery stamp
9 1/2 x 11 3/4 in, 24.1 x 29.8 cm

Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CAD

Sold for: $97,250

Preview at: Heffel Calgary - 220 Manning Road NE, Unit 1080

PROVENANCE
Frank Robert Heaton (1866 – 1939), Montreal
Continental Galleries of Fine Art, Montreal
Private Collection, Toronto
Dominion Gallery, Montreal, 1960
Private Collection, Town of Mount-Royal, 1961
Dominion Gallery, Montreal, 1963
Private Collection, Winnipeg, 1963
By descent to the present Private Collection, Winnipeg, 1993

LITERATURE
Charles C. Hill, Morrice, A Gift to the Nation: The G. Blair Laing Collection, National Gallery of Canada, 1992, page 18


James Wilson Morrice spent much of his life in France, in Paris and the surrounding towns and countryside of Normandy and Brittany. His situation was rare at the time—he was a Canadian Impressionist who became renowned internationally, respected not only by collectors and museums, but also by his fellow artists. Morrice, a sensualist who saw the beauty in all things and enjoyed the precious moments of each day, stated, “It is a privilege to be alive.” He was attracted to the picturesque, and this oil sketch captures one such scene. What could be a more quintessentially French Impressionist subject than stooks of grain in a sun-drenched field? Morrice’s brushwork is exquisite, as he fluidly runs his brush downward in long lines to represent tree trunks, depicts shadows merging into the sunny fields like pools of water and whorls of clouds in a pale blue sky with faint overtones of Vincent van Gogh. He sketched his small panels out of doors, carefully mixing his pigments and dabbing on tiny morsels of colour until he captured, precisely yet loosely, the fresh atmosphere he observed in this harvest scene in Brittany.

We thank Lucie Dorais for her assistance in cataloguing this work. This work will be included in Dorais’s forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work, titled as Harvest Time.


Estimate: $15,000 - $25,000 CAD

All prices are in Canadian Dollars


Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.