signed lower right; signed, titled and inscribed “Studio Bldg., Severn St. Toronto” on the reverse
8.5 × 10.5 in (21.6 × 26.7 cm)
Auction Estimate:$20,000 - $30,000
Sale date:June 15, 2022
Price Realized
$26,400
(including Buyer's Premium)
Provenance
Private Collection, Toronto
A.Y. Jackson famously summed up his painting philosophy in the documentary “Canadian Landscape”: “[w]hen I am making a sketch I try to emphasize the things I want and ignore the things I don’t want.” In “Farm House East of Ste. Famille, Île d’Orléans”, Jackson gives a lesson in seeing. The artist illuminates a path from the bottom left corner that guides the eye of the viewer over the grassy mounds to the centre of the picture where they are invited to glimpse the star of the painting - the central farmhouse. Elsewhere in the picture, Jackson maintains a more muted palette for the outbuildings, demonstrating his knack for getting to the heart of a scene and controlling the narrative.
“Farm House East of Ste. Famille, Île d’Orléans”, was painted at a time when the Group of Seven was gaining acceptance and the group members were each developing an individual style.
