Additional Images

Provenance:

Private Collection, Ontario

Literature:

Colin S. MacDonald, A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, 3rd edition, Canadian Paperbacks, Ottawa, 1975, pages 871-872.

Note:

Following two years of study at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, John Little left his native home to continue his artistic pursuits in New York City. In 1949, Little worked as an assistant on the popular aviation adventure comic strip Bruce Gentry (which ran in newspapers from 1945-1951) before returning to Montreal in 1951 to begin working as a draughtsman in his father’s architectural firm (Luke & Little).

It is easy to trace to the influence of the streets of New York, the playful appearance of comic strips and the precision of a draughtsman, in the works that Little would go on to produce following his 1953 decision to turn exclusively to painting.

Rue Fabrique, Quebec is an exceptional example of Little’s work from this period.

Côte de la Fabrique lies in the heart of Quebec City’s bustling commercial district. Little’s panoramic vantage point rests at the spot where the street intersects with the Rue Saint-Jean. A light rain shower has cast the road with a glistening dampness, which slickens the pavement and heightens the vivid hues Little employs. Patrons of the bistros and shops which line the streets, spill out into the scene, going about their business in a cacophony of activity and colour.

Little’s spectacle is not only a pleasure to admire visually, but it also creates an easily imaginable soundscape. A businessman barters with a horse-drawn cab for hire; a merchant on a bicycle cart whistles at the swoosh of a woman’s tangerine-coloured skirt; children attentively listen to the instructions of their nanny; two nuns deliberate on the state of modernity; men settle wagers in front of the pub; impatient drivers in cars and delivery trucks honk their horns; streetcars trundle noisily down the tracks – bells ringing, steel squealing.