North Shore, Quebec, circa 1938

Gift from the Artist to Dr. Stanley Minto Campbell, Toronto By descent to a Private Collection, Ontario Heffel Fine Art, auction, Toronto, 22 November 2012, lot 159 Private Collection, Toronto

Naomi Jackson Groves, "A.Y.’s Canada", Toronto/Vancouver, 1968, page 44 Charles C. Hill, "Canadian Painting in the Thirties", Ottawa, 1975, page 11

The landscapes of rural Quebec are A.Y. Jackson’s signature subjects. While he had painted in the Eastern Townships before World War I, it was only in February and March 1921 that he painted on the Lower Saint Lawrence. Over the subsequent decades he made almost annual forays in late winter and early spring, painting in the many small villages along the north and south shores. These small, rural towns attracted Jackson and his companions since they retained the traditional way of life during a time when society was becoming increasingly modernized and populous. "North Shore, Quebec" demonstrates Jackson’s strong sense of both colour and composition through its fluid, rhythmic lines of the snowy terrain, trees and hills, as well as the luminous blanket of snow and accents of aqua in the stream and sky. Jackson enjoyed early spring sketching for the brilliant sunshine and the softening of the snow over the land. Charles C. Hill remarks on Jackson’s preference for portraying these time periods in the Canadian landscape: “It was the changing seasons that attracted A.Y., not the bright greens of summer, nor the blank whiteness of winter, but the flow of winter to spring or the blaring up of summer into autumn.” "North Shore, Quebec" reveals patches of field, bare shrubbery and a glistening stream emerging from the luscious layers of snow. This painting is a commanding example of Jackson’s skill at rendering the charming Quebec landscape, evoking the arrival of spring as the last of winter fades. Jackson expertly captured the heart of Quebec, and fondly recalled, “I have worked in villages on both the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence. I have happy memories of a great many places.”