GREY DAY, PORT AU PERSIL

oil on panel

8.5 x 10.5 in. (21.6 x 26.7 cm)

Price Realized:

28080.00 CAD.

INCLUDES BUYER’S PREMIUM

Notes:

signed, titled & dated

Among the many places AY Jackson painted, his sketches of rural Quebec are by far the most celebrated facets of his work. Beginning in 1921, following a trip to the South Shore with A.H. Robinson, Jackson devoted more than 25 years to this countryside and it would come to define his contribution to Canadian art. In the natural rhythms of its landscape and among its picturesque villages he found his ideal painting place. “Here we are in Christmas card country”, he wrote in letter to JEH upon arrival to Baie St.Paul in 1924, “I see cards waiting to be done.”

Grey Day, Port-au-Persil, is a superb testament to Jackson’s natural ability in capturing the aura of Quebec in winter. Here we see the village of Port-au-Persil resting on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence in Charlevoix county. It is among the province’s most idyllic hamlets. The Port-au-Persil chapel seen in the distance is still today one of the most iconic photo sites in Canada. Jackson paints the homestead in the foreground with a scattering of houses which serves to balance the composition harmoniously. He uses the curvilinear pathways and hillocks to suggest a rhythmical movement throughout leading us through its snow covered paths as if he were our personal guide. Across the St. Lawrence River is the palpable atmosphere and reality of the day’s weather. In true ‘Group’ fashion, Jackson painting en-plein-air, has given us exactly what he saw that moment, an honest and compelling sketch of his beloved Quebec in winter.