signed with initials and dated 1852 lower left; titled and dated on two gallery labels on the reverse
40 × 31 in (101.6 × 78.7 cm)
(including Buyer's Premium)
Douglas Young, 1852
Mrs. David Douglas Young, née Sarah Gunn, 1910
George Burns Symes Young, 1916
By descent to Elsie Ritchie
Private Collection, Knowlton
Galerie Walter Klinkhoff, Montreal, 1998
Private Collection, Toronto, 2024
Canadian Masterpieces, Galerie Walter Klinkhoff, Montreal, September 2008, no. 1
Canadian Art: A Child's World, Annual Loan Exhibition, Galerie Eric Klinkhoff, Montreal, 28 October-11 November 2017, no. 1
Our Children: Reflections of Childhood in Historical Canadian Art, Varley Art Gallery, Markham, 13 April-23 June 2019
Théophile Hamel was one of Quebec’s foremost nineteenth-century painters, often considered the leading portraitist of his generation in French Canada. He was born in Sainte-Foy, near Quebec City, and showed artistic talent from a young age. Around 1834, Hamel began studying under Antoine Plamondon, one of the first professionally trained painters in Quebec. This apprenticeship shaped Hamel’s early style, which was rooted in the European academic and neoclassical traditions that Plamondon had brought back from Italy.
After completing his training, Hamel set up his own studio in Quebec City and quickly became the most sought-after portrait painter in the province. His clientele included politicians, clergy, and members of the professional elite–notably Louis-Joseph Papineau, Sir George- Étienne Cartier, and other key figures of pre-Confederation Canada. His portraits are characterized by careful attention to facial expression, elegant composition, and a sophisticated use of light. In the 1840s, Hamel spent time in Europe, where he studied Old Masters and refined his technique. When he returned to Quebec, his style had become looser and more confident, with a greater sense of atmosphere and psychological depth.
The adult sitter in this large portrait is Sarah Gunn, who married David Douglas Young in Quebec City in 1850. David was thirty- seven years old and Sarah was twenty-three years old at the time of their wedding. The couple had at least two children, including George Young and Elizabeth Irwin Young. This portrait of Sarah and her son, painted in 1852, was likely commissioned by her husband, as was the norm at the time. David Douglas Young was a squire, merchant, and the president of the Bank of Quebec. Seated in a large and extravagant wingback chair with a carved backrest and gold and orange printed upholstery, the woman is dressed in a dark moiré dress with a lace collar and cuffs, accessorized with ample jewelry, attesting to her social status. The boy is wearing a dress, as was common for young children at the time, and playfully pulls at one of his mother's necklaces as he leans to the right side of the composition. The mother and son both look at the viewer, which was typical of the artist’s portraits. Among Quebec painters, Théophile Hamel stands out for his exceptional depictions of children. Portraits of children, whether alone, in groups or with their parents, are considered to be one of the most significant themes in Hamel’s work.
