Please note our offices will be closed from Friday March 29 through Monday April 1 for Easter. Local pick-ups will start on Tuesday April 2.
      
      
      
      

LOT 135

CAC RCA
1865 - 1924
Canadian

La blanchisseuse
oil on board, circa 1906
on verso inscribed "3" / "2" / "65" faintly and stamped (faintly) with the J.W. Morrice studio stamp
4 7/8 x 6 in, 12.4 x 15.2 cm

Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 CAD

Sold for: $40,250

Preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave

PROVENANCE
W.M. Scott & Sons, Montreal
Continental Galleries, Montreal
Mrs. Howard Pillow, Montreal (sold titled as Lundi matin)
By descent to Marguerite Pillow-Vaughan and Murray Vaughan, Montreal (listed in their private catalogue as Lundi matin - La blanchisseuse)
Christie's, Montreal, October 29, 1969, lot 65 (titled as La blanchisseuse)
McCready Galleries Inc., Toronto
Private Collection, Ontario


The subject of a laundress (blanchisseuse) was a recurrent one in the work of French Impressionists such as Edgar Degas and his contemporaries. Here, James Wilson Morrice sketches en plein air as a laundress lays out washed sheets and tablecloths, presumably for the bathing resorts near Dieppe that were popular with both London and Parisian tourists. Lucie Dorais records that Morrice spent at least a week painting at a beach in Dieppe, France, around June 1906. Dieppe, with its pebbly beach, would have been quite suitable for drying linens in this manner.

As inferred by this work’s alternate sale title Lundi matin, this task would typically be performed on Monday mornings by women of the working class. Morrice portrays this woman from a marked distance, with quick and precise brush-strokes. The result is a sensitive rendering of a fleeting moment in time, similar to a photograph or postcard, but more nostalgic in its final impressions. This work will be included in Dorais's forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work.

We would like to thank Lucie Dorais for her research and contributions to this essay.


Estimate: $30,000 - $40,000 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.