St. Tite des Caps

Acquired directly from the artist Sotheby’s Canada, auction, Toronto, November 26, 1984, Lot 81 Kaspar Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto

A.Y. Jackson, A Painter’s Country, Vancouver/Toronto, 1958, page 64 David P. Silcox, The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson, Toronto, 2003, pages 182-83

Nestled in a valley, just northeast of Quebec City, St. Tite des Caps overlooks a vast landscape of farm lots, grassy hills and forests, framing the elemental forces of nature that A.Y. Jackson and the Group of Seven were so interested in capturing. As he was familiar with the Quebec landscape, Jackson spent much of his career travelling throughout the province, visiting small villages along the St. Lawrence River. These small, rural towns attracted Jackson and his companions because they retained the traditional way of life during a time that society was becoming increasingly modernized and populous. In this charming work, the muted tones of rose, mauve and indigo remind us of frigid, Canadian winters and their continuous changing colours and textures as the sun rises and sets. In his autobiography, Jackson wrote that he loved to paint here because “the snow lingered there when it had gone in most other places.” This work demonstrates what Jackson liked so much about the village - its distance from the rush and business of the city, providing him with a tranquil escape to record traditional life in Quebec.