signed lower right; titled on a label on the reverse
20 × 24 in (50.8 × 61.0 cm) (sight)
Kensington-Calgary, April 1977
L.G. Hubley, 7 June 1977
Joyner Fine Art, auction, Toronto, 24 November 1992, lot 5
Joyner Waddington’s, auction, Toronto, 1 June 2004, lot 25
Private Collection, Toronto
30th Annual Exhibition, Canadian Society of Water Colour Artists, Art Gallery of Toronto, February 1956
John G. Hatch, Doris McCarthy: Life & Work [online publication], Art Canada Institute, Toronto, 2024, page 12, reproduced page 12
Doris McCarthy's The Complete Barachois, 1954 offers a richly detailed portrayal of a coastal fishing village, where the rhythms of daily life unfold across an interconnected landscape of modest houses, cultivated plots, and working waterfronts. Devoted to the ecology of a coastal Quebec settlement shaped by the barachois, the scene shows boats resting along the tidal inlet, their placement emphasizing the community's dependence on the sea, while narrow roads and footpaths weave between buildings, linking domestic and labour spaces into a cohesive whole. The carefully tended fields and clustered structures suggest a self-sustaining rural economy, shaped as much by human effort as by the surrounding terrain.
McCarthy distills the barachois into a vivid microcosm of Gaspé coastal life, where land, water, and human activity are seamlessly intertwined. This sensitivity is rooted in her plein air practice: immersing herself in the scene, she responded with urgency to shifting conditions of light, weather, and tide, translating observation into essential form with clarity and speed. In this synthesis of observation and structure, McCarthy's love of nature and attention to detail capture the character of each region she visited, transforming place into a resonant expression of lived experience and enduring visual harmony.
Over the summer of 1933, McCarthy enjoyed the first of many extensive painting trips, this time with fellow artist, Ethel Luella Curry. They went to Ottawa before crossing over the border into Quebec, where they visited Mont-Laurier and then Baie-Saint-Paul, a popular artists’ village, followed by a trek along the south shore of the Gaspé Peninsula. The next summer they went to Peggy’s Cove with Noreen (Nory) Masters, a fellow teacher at Central Tech, and then to the Gaspé Peninsula, stopping at the towns of Gaspé, Mal Bay (La Malbaie), and the fishing village of Barachois.
McCarthy went on to study at the Royal College of Art with Nory Masters. They spent their spare time enjoying the sites in and around London and going abroad to Paris. They purchased a car and toured England and Scotland painting. As John G. Hatch notes, “McCarthy noted that the lessons she learned at Central Technical School took time to percolate, but they eventually found their way into some of her most important early mature works, such as The Complete Barachois.” McCarthy painted this work at this specific perspective in order to capture all of the locations where she and her fellow artists has stayed and painted in the region over the years.
