Strawberry Picking, Oakville, circa 1900 by Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith

Provenance:
Mr. and Mrs. Jules Loeb, Toronto
Private Collection

Exhibited:
“Ontario Society of Artists 29th Exhibition”, from 2 March 1901, no. 3
“Pan-American Exposition”, Canadian Art Gallery, Buffalo, 1 May‒2 November 1901, no. 3
“Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith (1846-1923)”, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria; travelling to Glenbow‒Alberta Institute, Calgary; The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa; The Art Gallery of Stratford; Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queens University, Kingston; London Art Gallery; Art Gallery of Windsor, 15 September 1977‒30 July 1978, no. 3
“The Private Eye: Art, Collectors and Their Stories”, McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, 1 July‒14 November 2004 as “Strawberry Pickers, Oakville, Ontario”, circa 1900
“Embracing Canada: Landscapes from Krieghoff to the Group of Seven,” Vancouver Art Gallery; travelling to the Glenbow Museum, Calgary; Art Gallery of Hamilton, 30 October 2015‒25 September 2016
“Our Children: Reflections of Childhood in Historical Canadian Art”, Varley Art Gallery, Markham, 13 April‒23 June 2019, as “Picking Strawberries in Oakville”, circa 1900

Literature:
Roger Boulet, “Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith (1846-1923),” Art Gallery of Greater Vancouver, 1977, plate 3, reproduced page 40 as “Gathering Strawberries”
Ian Thom, et al., “Embracing Canada: Landscapes from Krieghoff to the Group of Seven”, Vancouver/London, 2015, page 200, reproduced page 78

Though born in London, England, Frederic Marlett Bell–Smith immigrated to Montreal in his twenties before settling in Ontario in 1871. Trained at the South Kensington School of Art and in Paris under Courtois, Dupain and T.A. Harrison, Bell–Smith’s style oscillated between a more conservative inclination and a looser, more vibrant aesthetic. He painted portraits, city scenes and rural landscapes, and most of his work was completed in oils or watercolours.

In “Strawberry Picking, Oakville”, the artist captures a favourite summer pastime for many Ontario residents. As an article of historical documentation, the picture gives insight into the summer fashions at the turn of the century. The women all wear wide-brimmed straw hats and crisp long-sleeved dresses. The male figures, who are carrying the crates of picked strawberries, are both wearing brown and donning boater hats. Bell-Smith excelled in the painting of atmospheric effects, as demonstrated by the warm sunlight that reaches the figures through the clouds, and the soft and muted paint application which evoke the sensation of a humid summer day.

Bell-Smith returned to Europe many times throughout his career, and he established a reputation for himself in Britain after being granted a personal sitting by Queen Victoria in 1895. The artist contemplated moving to Britain during this time, but he decided to remain based in Canada. “Strawberry Picking, Oakville” was painted in 1900, shortly after completing the Queen’s portrait, during the height of the artist's career. Back in Ontario, where he taught and practiced, Bell–Smith advocated for a distinctly Canadian style and believed that it would rival the masterworks of Europe.