Certified verso by Lucile Rodier Gagnon, wife of the artist (Paris, 1946; no. 196).
Clarence Gagnon was born in a small village in Rural Quebec and began his formal art education under William Brymner at the Montreal Association of Art. Like many Canadian artists of his time, Gagnon travelled to Paris in 1904 to continue his studies. Here, he attended the Academie Julien and became immersed in the artistic community, gaining recognition for his work at the St. Louis Art Exhibition, and at the Salon de la Societe des Artistes Francais. While in Paris, Gagnon painted with James Wilson Morrice and became influenced by his plein-air sketching techniques. Upon his return to Quebec in 1908, he settled in Baie-St-Paul along the St. Lawrence River, though he would go on to spend much of his life living and working in France. It is in the Laurentians where he produced most of his plein-air sketches. Where his Group of Seven contemporaries are best known for their bold, rugged depictions of the Canadian wilderness, Gagnon is recognized for gentle and idyllic scenes that reflect his affection for his homeland.
