Portrait, circa 1896-1897 by James Wilson Morrice

Provenance:
Wm Scott & Sons, Montreal
F.R. Heaton
Continental Galleries, Montreal as “Portrait of An Artist”
Mrs. P.A. Chester (Isabel Ivey), Winnipeg, 2 March 1951
Private Collection, Toronto
Acquired by the present Private Collection, 1967

Exhibited:
“The Private Collection of the Late F.R. Heaton”, Continental Galleries, Montreal, 22 October‒4 November 1949
“Portraits: Mirror of Man”, Winnipeg Art Gallery, 30 September‒28 October 1956, no. 72 as “Portrait of the Director of the International Exposition in Venice, 1904‒1908” (Collection of Mrs. Philip A. Chester, Winnipeg)
“Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection,” Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; travelling to Musée du Québec, Québec City; Vancouver Art Gallery; Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, 14 May 1988‒7 May 1989, no. 46 as “Portrait”

Literature:
(Anon.), ‘Fine Paintings Shown in Heaton Collection’, “The Gazette” (Montreal), 22 October 1949, page 22, mentions "a portrait of a black‒ bearded fellow artist with the sea as a background"
Lucie Dorais, ‘Morrice et la figure humaine / Morrice and the Human Figure’, in Nicole Cloutier, “James Wilson Morrice 1865‒1924”, page 53, 63
Charles C. Hill, ‘Morrice at Montreal’, “RACAR 13/1”, 1986, page 56
Dennis Reid, “Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection”, Toronto, no. 46, reproduced page 52

Morrice always owed his fame to his landscapes, big or small, brought back from the many lands he visited; but he also wanted “to be known as a portrait painter” (Newton MacTavish, “Ars Longa”, 1938)... In reality, model studies and portraits count for about six percent of his output; portraits of individuals, as the present one, are extremely rare, about fifteen; and only six when we exclude representations of two lady friends – a lovely blonde with a chignon around 1894‒95, and then his long‒time companion, Léa Cadoret. Of the remaining ones, all men, three are identified as painters William Brymner, Robert Henri and Fernand Le Gout‒Gérard; the others, as our “Portrait” was in the 1949 review, and the sketch long known as “Matisse”, are often referred to as “fellow artists”.

Here a middle‒aged man is relaxing in a comfortable seat; the wooden armrest prolonged by a shiny metal bar could mean a small boat, the bar being a handle or an oar lock. His near‒perfect profile is outlined over the calm turquoise water; the sun has just set over the high horizon. He is not a “local model”, more probably an acquaintance of Morrice. Canadian painter Clarence Gagnon identified him as the Director of the Venice Biennale, probably the powerful Secretary General, Antonio Fradeletto, who sported a remarkable black beard, but cut square and paired with a long, upward pointing mustache: not our man; the President, Count Filippo Grimani, never had a beard. The dates given by Gagnon are also puzzling: the Biennale was then held on odd years, and both officials were on the Board from the first, in 1895, until well after the war. It is hard, given these facts, to give any credence to Gagnon’s souvenir, which dates from around 1940 (he died in 1942).

“Portrait” is not dated, but its composition, technique and palette, strongly influenced by Manet, suggest circa 1896‒1897. The Canadian artist visited Venice in 1897, but nothing here is particularly Venetian, and the (presumed) boat is not a gondola. Morrice had spent part of the previous summer in the fishing town of Cancale, north east of Saint‒Malo, producing more than twenty‒five small paintings and sketches, and almost filling a sketchbook. For once, he looked at the human beings around him, the women and children working in the oyster beds while the men were away fishing. This interest extended to fellow painters, like the anonymous, older artist showing his painting to a little girl “On the Beach” (Vancouver Art Gallery, wrongly located in Dinard).

A splendid portrait on a wood panel, “Le peintre Le Gout Gérard sur le motif,” personally dedicated by Morrice (private collection), is directly linked to Cancale 1896. The French artist is sitting close to the picture plane, in the act of painting, protected from the sun by his parasol; his profile is outlined by the sandy beach, with the oyster beds in the background: in true classic tradition, the painting includes details describing the sitter and locating it. Morrice’s “La Bretonne”, a young Cancalaise seen in profile against an elaborate landscape (National Gallery of Canada), is composed similarly. But the setting of “Portrait” is too vague, and neither rock outcropping on the horizon is the famous Rocher de Cancale. The subject occupies all the foreground space, requiring our exclusive attention, forcing us to admire the painting technique of the artist rather than his skill at depicting a person. But we are still curious to know who he is... his creamy‒white blouse, casually opened, almost certainly belongs to a painter, taking a break from his easel. Dare we suggest a name?

That summer, Fernand Le Gout‒Gérard was accompanied by another painter of the sea, his friend Maurice Courant. The late Jean‒Thierry Du Pasquier, a specialist of Courant, saw him in our “Portrait”, adding that the French artist wore a similar blouse and hat when working. In the photo he sent, Courant’s long beard and mustache are very close to our model’s; an 1891 painted portrait of him show the same dark beard and bushy hair; unfortunately, here the hat prevents a full comparison. Our model seems younger than Courant, who was then 48 years old. But we think him a better candidate than Signore Fradeletto... whom Morrice actually did meet briefly, but only in 1901, at the Venice Biennale.

We extend our thanks to Lucie Dorais, Canadian art historian and author of “J.W. Morrice” (National Gallery of Canada, 1985), for contributing the preceding essay.