Sold for: $82,600

PROVENANCE
Claude A. Bouchard, Ottawa
Peter Ohler Fine Arts Ltd., Vancouver
Private Collection, Vancouver

LITERATURE
Dennis Reid, Edwin Holgate, Canadian Artists Series, 1976, titled as Le poilu, reproduced page 29
Rosalind Pepall and Brian Foss, Edwin Holgate, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 2005, the 1918 canvas Near Amiens reproduced page 104 and listed page 171
Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 22, 2008, essay by François-Marc Gagnon, page 21

Le poilu is the oil sketch for Edwin Holgate’s powerful canvas Near Amiens, sold by Heffel in spring 2008 for a record amount. In 1916, during World War I, Holgate enrolled in the Canadian Army, and he was later sent with the 4th Canadian Division to France. Holgate executed this study at a train station at Amiens in March 1918. This was a dangerous time, as German soldiers had broken through the British lines.

François-Marc Gagnon wrote, “On his way to the front, Holgate witnessed a scene that summarizes this war and all wars...What is amazing in this painting is the economy of means used by Holgate to convey his message...The drama of the situation is conveyed by the resignation of the soldier and the anxiety of the woman.” Poilu was a warm, informal term for a World War I French infantryman from a rural background - the bravery and endurance of these men was celebrated in propaganda and war memorials of the time. In this poignant sketch, Holgate captures a very human moment during the Great War that is both historical and universal.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars