Plain Trees, Paris

Continental Galleries, Montreal Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montreal Private Collection, Toronto

A.K. Prakash, "Impressionism in Canada: A Journey of Rediscovery", Stuttgart, 2015, page 621

After serving in World War I, Robert Pilot went to study in Paris like many other Canadian artists of the time. The artist became enamoured with Impressionism, particularly the work of Camille Pissarro. Soon after his return, the painter was invited by A.Y. Jackson to include two of his works in the Group of Seven’s first exhibition in 1920. As A.K. Prakash remarks, Pilot “preferred to paint inhabited places rather than the untamed wilderness, so he differed philosophically from the group’s nationalist approach to art.” This approach is illustrated in this charming painting populated by the "flâneurs" of Paris. The picture glows in the warm palette of afternoon light.