signed, titled, dated “vers 1924” and certified by Lucile Rodier Gagnon (no. 617) on a label on the reverse
4.75 × 7 in (12.1 × 17.8 cm)
Auction Estimate:$10,000 - $12,000
Sale date:November 23, 2017
Price Realized
$14,950
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Continental Galleries of Fine Art, Montreal
Private Collection, Montreal
Literature
Hélène Sicotte and Michèle Grandbois, Clarence Gagnon, 1881-1942: Dreaming the Landscape, Musée national des beaux-arts du Quebec, Quebec City, 2006, page 136
Following the First World War, Gagnon moved to Baie St. Paul with his second wife, Lucile Rodier, in 1919. Marking a short but prolific period for the artist, the rural region offered the artist infinite seasonal landscapes to capture. From 1919-1924, before moving to France, Gagnon took advantage of the newly accessible area, thanks in part to the newly constructed rail line connecting Montreal and Quebec City to Baie St. Paul, and produced numerous sketches, paintings and print works of the area. During this time, A.Y. Jackson, Albert Henry Robinson, Edwin Holgate, Mabel May and Lilias Torrance joined him at various times to join in sketching trips across the region. Gagnon experimented with a variety of paints and techniques while in Baie St. Paul, as he was dissatisfied with the quality of materials after the war, and often hand-ground custom pigments. “Au Crépuscule, Baie St. Paul” exemplifies this experimentation of technique with the ethereal smoothness of a more monochromatic palette and paint application to communicate the calm atmosphere at dusk.
