P.C. Sheppard bore witness to the steady construction and urbanization that took place in Canadian and American cities during the first half of the twentieth century, which inspired much of his artistic oeuvre. A documentarian of sorts, Sheppard recorded scenes of daily life which are largely extinct today. Sheppard was particularly captivated by subjects involving a human presence, particularly crowds in city streets, markets, county fairs, circuses and harbour scenes. He took great comfort in painting his beloved views of ships, either plying the waters or dry docked ashore. As a subject, “Muskoka Boathouse” echoes the artist’s much sought after technique of imbuing the composition with an emblematic quality. The vivid palette and dynamic composition of this urban landscape is expertly rendered with Sheppard’s visionary, modern approach.
