Sailboats, circa 1905-1906

Scott & Sons, Montreal, before 1924 Henry L. Putnam, Montreal, before 1931 D&J Ritchie, auction, Toronto, 26 September 1980, lot 1056 as “Sailboats, Lac St. Louis” Private Collection, British Columbia Winchester Gallery, Victoria, January 2011 Private Collection, Victoria

A. Lever & C. Moorfield, “D&J Ritchie, Canadian Art Auction Prices, 1975–1980”, Vol.1, listed page 61, reproduced page 66 as “Sailboats, Lac St. Louis” “The Gazette”, Montreal; “Edmonton Journal”; “The Ottawa Citizen”, 1980–1981, reproduced multiple times as an advertisement Anne–Marie Bouchard ‘James Wilson Morrice and Fin-de-siècle France’ in Katerina Atanassova, “Morrice: The A.K. Prakash Collection in Trust to the Nation”, Ottawa, 2017, page 81

Sailboats were a popular subject for Morrice, who had been fascinated by them since his early childhood. As Anne–Marie Bouchard notes, “Morrice fits historically within the wake of Impressionists and Post–Impressionists such as Pierre–Auguste Renoir, and Gustave Caillebotte, Pissarro and Signac, who were obviously partial to seascapes.” The style of boats indicate that they were private boats and were not used for fishing. “Sailboats” presents a lively scene, painted in the bright oranges and turquoise colours that were inspired by the work of the Fauves. James Wilson Morrice would have encountered the Fauvist paintings in the Salon d'Automne of 1905 that shocked the viewing public. Morrice had four oil studies entered in the Salon that year. While Morrice proves that he was able to assimilate the pure Fauvist hues, the light brushwork is characteristically his own. The technique employed by Morrice likely dates this work to circa 1905–1906. During that time period, Morrice travelled extensively across Europe, including Dieppe (Normandy), Saint–Malo (North of Brittany), and Concarneau/Le Pouldu (South Brittany), among other locations. We extend our thanks to Lucie Dorais, Canadian art historian and author of “J.W. Morrice (National Gallery of Canada, 1985)” for researching this artwork.