Saint–Tite–des–Caps is nestled in a valley northeast of Quebec City. Surrounded by farm lots, grassy hills and forests, the picturesque Quebec village was painted by A.Y. Jackson during pilgrimages along the shores of the St. Lawrence. Jackson’s depictions of the small villages with their prominent church steeples, was believed to be a record for posterity and a way of life he believed was rapidly disappearing with modern advancements in the early to mid- twentieth century.
In “A Painter’s Country” by Jackson, he describes the village as “one of the places we loved to paint. The snow lingered there when it had gone in most other places.” In the 1941 National Film Board documentary by Radford Crawley featuring A.Y Jackson, Crawley follows Jackson on one of his annual sojourns to Saint–Tite–des– Caps. In April, the snow began to thaw and Jackson’s daily travels on snowshoes to sketch the village reflect some of his most important works. In his autobiography, Jackson recalls the filming “...in April, Crawley came down to St. Tite des Caps where I was sketching.” He explains there was still plenty of snow but the weather was sunny and mild “and Crawley, who was indefatigable, took shots not only of me, but of the life of the village generally, which were delightful.”
