Farm at Avoca, Quebec

Purchased from the artist by Raymond Bourque, Ottawa Dominion Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Toronto

Consignor Canadian Fine Art, Auction of Important Canadian Art, auction catalogue, Toronto, November 23, 2017, page 59 (lot 73) for the canvas of this subject (entitled “Quebec House”)

An avid outdoorsman, A.Y. Jackson was acutely aware of his role within the landscape as an active participant; rather than omit the villages, communities and settlements which he encountered across Canada, he instead sought to elevate the importance of human existence, resilience and reliance on the land in these more remote locales. The representation of life in rural communities is central within many of Jackson’s celebrated works and was an element which was integral to his oeuvre. In “Farm at Avoca, Quebec”, cows graze freely in the fields surrounding a farmhouse with a colourful roof. Demonstrating Jackson’s strong sense of colour and composition through warm tones and rhythmic lines, the scenery glows in richly saturated hues of yellow ochre, complimented with accents of cobalt and mauve. The mastery of his composition may have been central to Jackson deciding to later produce a larger canvas of the scene. “Quebec House”, a 16 x 20 inch canvas shares many of the composition elements which the Group of Seven artist first perfected in this preliminary sketch.