Two Boats at Barachois, 1934

Private Collection, Toronto

Painted in the Gaspé, this oil sketch demonstrates the confidence and aptitude already apparent in Doris McCarthy’s early work. The sinuous lines of the masts reflected in the water are reminiscent of Art Nouveau, a prevalent influence for Canadian modernists of the period. McCarthy allows the ochre underpainting to show through the cool blues and greys of the rippled water, livening the painted surface with contrasting hues. The horizontal forms of the landscape and the vertical lines of the masts direct our attention to the pair of small boats. The brushwork varies smoothly from top to bottom, becoming loose and direct at the watery foreground. Painted while in her early twenties, the work wonderfully depicts a scene which captures the effects of dappled light and the gentle movement of water.