The St. Lawrence at Trois Pistoles, Quebec, 1927

Kaspar Gallery, Toronto Private Collection, Toronto

A.Y. Jackson, “A Painter’s Country: The Autobiography of A.Y. Jackson”, Toronto, 1958, page 82 Naomi Jackson Groves, “A.Y.’s Canada,” Toronto/Vancouver, 1968, page 44

During a sweeping visit to the South Shore of the St. Lawrence River in 1927, A.Y. Jackson visited the village of Trois Pistoles. The distinguished paintings Jackson created from his visits to the South Shore are quintessential to his oeuvre of the Quebec countryside, marking an enjoyable period for the artist. As his niece, Naomi Jackson Groves suggests of this 1927 sojourn, “It was a good time for A.Y.: he was breaking through into maturity as a Canadian artist.” Jackson enjoyed early spring sketching for the brilliant sunshine and the softening of the snow over the land. “The St. Lawrence at Trois Pistoles, Quebec” reveals the ploughed furrows of the field emerging from the luscious layers of snow stretching towards the panoramic Laurentian mountains and the open blue sky beyond. This early oil sketch by Père Raquette is a commanding example of Jackson’s skill at rendering the charming Quebec landscape, evoking the arrival of spring as the last of winter fades. Jackson expertly captured the heart of Quebec, and fondly recalled, “I have worked in villages on both the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence. I have happy memories of a great many places.”