signed lower right
Provenance: Kennedy Galleries, New York NY; Former collection of Nathan Coming, Massachusetts; Former collection of George Whitney, Philadelphia PA; Private collection, Texas; Masters Gallery, Calgary AB; Private collection, Calgary AB
Exhibited: 39th Annual Exhibition of Pennsylvania Academy of Arts, “Pennsylvania Academy of Arts” (1862)
Note: This work is Illustrated in “The Kennedy Quarterly, vol. X, no. 1, June 1970” (Kennedy Galleries, New York; 1970).
Dutch-born Krieghoff travelled extensively before settling in Canada some time around 1846 when he opened his Montreal studio. He later moved his family to Quebec City in 1853. Inspired by the common scenes around him, he was one of the first artists to depict the everyday experience in mid-19th century Quebec, which he did in the romanticized fashion of the era. Known for his genre scenes, and portraits of habitants and Indigenous subjects, Krieghoff was rarely interested in painting “Indian” portraits of the type that focused on the individual subject, on his/her distinct characteristics or feelings. Instead, his images are representational and emblematic of a culture, a time, and a way of life. While not very successful during his Montreal years, his single-figure portraits became very popular with his affluent patrons, and were also accessible to buyers of more modest means. Krieghoff’s favoured motifs included basket sellers, moccasin sellers, hunters and trappers – familiar images of the Quebec countryside.
