Grey Day, Port au Persil, 1947

Possibly T.W.L. MacDermot
Private Collection
Hodgins, auction, 26 May 2015, lot 99
Private Collection, Jackson's Point, Ontario

Painted in 1947, Grey Day, Port au Persil captures A.Y. Jackson’s deep affection for the rural villages of the Charlevoix region, one of his most beloved painting grounds. The view depicts a rural winter landscape, with snow-covered fields rolling toward a cluster of farmhouses and barns beneath the St. Lawrence River and blue sky. Jackson uses a restrained palette of whites, blue-greys and warm browns, enriched by green accents and areas of exposed wood panel. Broad, expressive brushstrokes define the undulating opalescent snowbanks, contrasting with the dark, angular rooftops of the buildings. The only human presence is a single cloaked figure walking toward the house in the foreground. The artist’s gestural brushwork and simplified forms convey the visual harmony of the scene and the vitality of the people who inhabited these communities.

Jackson first visited Charlevoix in 1920, after he had already moved to Toronto to share the Studio Building on Severn Street with fellow modern Canadian painters. From there, he embarked on regular sketching trips to rural Quebec and northern Ontario, searching for subjects that reflected both the ruggedness and the humanity of the Canadian landscape. He returned to the Charlevoix region many times, particularly the villages along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, such as Baie-Saint-Paul, Les Éboulements, Port-au-Persil and Sainte-Irénée. The steep hillsides, clustered wooden houses, and brilliant winter light offered ideal subjects for his modern, distinctly Canadian vision.