Les foins (The Hayfield), 1901

The Artist Philippe‒Auguste Choquette, 1901 Fernand Choquette, 1948 Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal Acquired by the present Private Collection, May 1975

Louis Morency Gallery, Quebec City, June 1901 “Historische Malerei Kanadas in OKanada”, Akademie der Kunste, Berlin, 5 December 1982–30 January 1983, no. 29 “Kanadische Malerei 19. und 20. Jahrhundert”, Instituts fur Auslandsbeziehungen, Stuttgart, Germany, 9 February-13 March 1983, no. 29 “Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection,” Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; travelling to Musée du Québec, Quebec City; Vancouver Art Gallery; Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, 14 May 1988‒7 May 1989, no. 44 “Ozias Leduc: An Art of Love and Reverie”, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; travelling to Musée du Québec, Québec City; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 22 February 1996‒15 January 1997, no. 95 “Expanding Horizons: Painting and Photography of American and Canadian Landscape 1860‒1918”, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 18 June‒27 September 2009 “Forging the Path: The Forerunners (1870‒1920),” McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario, 2 October 2010‒23 January 2011 “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 “Chefs‒d'œuvres de l'exposition ‘Embracing Canada’”, Eric Klinkhoff Gallery, 22 October‒5 November 2016

Jean Rémuna [pseud. Arsène Bessette], ‘M. Osias Leduc’, “Le Canada français”, 3 May 1901, page 2 ‘Belles peintures’, “L’Union des Cantons de l’Est,” 14 June 1901, page 2 Arthur Lemay, ‘L’œuvre du peintre Osias Leduc. Un artiste du terroir à St-Hilaire de Rouville’, “Le Terroir”, vol. 8, nos. 11 and 12, March/ April 1928, reproduced pages 186–187 Laurier Lacroix, “Ozias Leduc the Draughtsman”, Montreal, 1978, no. 46, reproduced page 158 Janice Seline, ‘The Real and the Ideal: Progress and the Landscapes of Ozias Leduc’, “Ozias Leduc the Draughtsman”, Sir George Williams Art Galleries, Montreal, 1978, pages 107–123 “Historische Malerei Kanadas in OKanada”, Berlin, 1982, no. 29, page 59, reproduced page 61 “Kanadische Malerei 19. und 20. Jahrhundert”, Stuttgart, 1983, no. 29, reproduced page 61 as “Les Foins,” 1901 Dennis Reid, “Collector's Canada: Selections from a Toronto Private Collection”, Toronto, 1988, no. 4, reproduced page 50 Barbara Ann Winters, “The Work and Thought of Ozias Leduc in the Intellectual and Social Context of his Time”, (M.A. Thesis, University of Victoria, 1990), figure 43, pages 154–155 Arlene Margaret Gehmacher, “The Mythologization of Ozias Leduc, 1890–1954”, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Toronto, 1995, figure 14, pages 149–154 Laurier Lacroix, “Les foins, Ozias Leduc: A Work of Love and Reverie”, Montreal, 1996, no. 122, reproduced page 151 Joan Murray, “Home Truths,” Toronto, 1998, plate 29, reproduced page 51 Joan Murray, “Celebrating Home: A Collection of Canada’s Best-Loved Painters,” Toronto, 2008, upaginated, reproduced Pierre Lambert, “Ozias Leduc : Le peintre en quête de beauté”, Saint- Sauveur, 2013, reproduced page 61 Hilliard T. Goldfarb, “Expanding Horizons: Painting and Photography of American and Canadian Landscape 1860-1918”, Montreal, 2009, no. 112, reproduced page 200 Katerina Atanassova, “Forging the Path: The Forerunners (1870-1920)”, Kleinburg, 2010, reproduced page 13 Pierre Lambert, “Ozias Leduc : Le peintre en quête de beauté”, Saint- Sauveur, 2013, reproduced page 61 Ian Thom, et. al, “Embracing Canada: Landscapes from Krieghoff to the Group of Seven”, Vancouver/London, 2015, reproduced page 155 “Chefs-d’œuvres de l’exposition ‘Embracing Canada’", Eric Klinkhoff Gallery, 2016, reproduced page 5

“The Hayfield” belongs to a cycle of three paintings by Ozias Leduc (1864–1955), including “Labour d’automne” (Fall Plowing, MNBAQ 1942.57) and “La ferme Choquette, l’hiver (The Choquette Farm, Beloeil”, MNBAQ 1978.93). The works are inspired by three seasons: summer, autumn and winter. They were commissioned by Judge Philippe- Auguste Choquette (1854–1948), a native of Saint-Mathieu-de- Beloeil. Indeed, he and his two brothers, Ernest and Charles-Philippe, were friends and patrons of Leduc. Journalist Arsène Bessette, who visited Leduc’s studio in Saint-Hilaire on April 8, 1901, noticed the three barely finished works. Exhibited at the galerie Morency in Quebec City in June, he shared the following comment: “ [...] the second [painting] represents a portion of the paternal farm, when hay is harvested, and Mr. Choquette, father, a brave farmer, sharpens his scythe while his workers work in the fields a short distance from him. Everything in this painting: colours, physiognomy, attitude, denotes a real artistic talent in its author. [...] We cannot sufficiently praise the talent of Mr. Leduc and the excellent idea of the Hon. Judge Choquette to adorn his vast salons with paintings of such great merit and which, in addition, have the advantage of constantly presenting to him scenes from his childhood, unforgettable scenes in all phases of life.” To depict the peasant sharpening his scythe, Leduc used photography. The Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec (Montreal) holds a photograph in the Ozias Leduc fonds, showing a man sharpening his scythe on a snowbank, suggesting that the artist conceived the work during the winter of 1900–1901. The commission closely follows the production of sixteen drawings to illustrate the novel “Claude Paysan” (1899) by Doctor Ernest Choquette, brother of Philippe-Auguste (see lot 111, “The Meeting of Fernande and Claude”). This book, set in Saint-Hilaire, where Leduc lived, allowed him to depict for the first time views inspired by this village, conveniently located between the Richelieu River and Mont Saint- Hilaire. Each of the three paintings of the commission is bathed in a subtle tone: a gray-brown for “Fall Ploughing”, a creamy white for “The Choquette Farm, Beloeil,” while “The Hayfield” is distinguished by its warm tones of golden yellow and greens, enhanced by blue and pink strokes. The landscape is dominant, and each scene discreetly presents an activity specific to the season depicted. While his contemporaries were attached to the rural subjects depicted by Leduc, the very essence of his art interests us. The qualities of the painterly material and brushwork used to texture the fields and animate the clouds, the subtlety of his palette, the fluidity of the composition framed by the trees and the pole fence, and the shadowy area of the foreground offer so many details that demonstrate the attention that the painter brings to the realization of the painting. While the sun is at its zenith and contrasting shadows occupy the landscape, Leduc depicts a scene that evokes a vast landscape of the fertile St. Lawrence Valley. Harvest time suggests the bounty of the land as well as the hard work of field workers. These are in harmony with the environment. The curve of the scythe continues in the shape of the field to be cut, and the clouds hug the roundness of the veils. The forces of man combine with the work of nature to provide an abundant harvest. Here Leduc deals with a theme that he will later develop, that of salvation through work, of the union of man with Creation using his daily activities carried out with diligence. The painting celebrates this agreement of the inhabitants with their environment; it glorifies nature and the individuals who recognize its value. We extend our thanks to Laurier Lacroix, C.M., art historian, for researching this artwork and contributing the preceding essay.