Joyner’s Canadian Art Auction

November 22, 2010

LOT 59

Lot 59

KATHLEEN MOIR MORRIS A.R.C.A.

KATHLEEN MOIR MORRIS  A.R.C.A.
Lot 59 Details
KATHLEEN MOIR MORRIS A.R.C.A.

AWAITING THE TRAIN, BERTHIERVILLE, QUEBEC

oil on canvas
signed
24 ins x 30 ins; 60 cms x 75 cms

Estimate $100,000-$150,000

Realised: $129,800
Price Includes Buyer's Premium ?

Lot Report

Literature:

Frances K. Smith, Kathleen Moir Morris, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston, 1983, pages 13 and 25.
Barbara Meadowcroft, Painting Friends, The Beaver Hall Women Painters, Montreal, 1999, page 87.
Evelyn Walters, The Women of Beaver Hall, Canadian Modernist Painters, Toronto, 2005, pages 72-80 (chapter entitled Kathleen Morris (1893-1986) and pages 75 and 77, colour plates, for Morris’s well-known canvases Waiting at the Old Church, Berthierville, Quebec (circa 1924) and After High Mass, Berthier-en-Haut, 1927.
A.K. Prakash, Independent Spirit, Early Canadian Women Artists, Richmond Hill, Ontario, 2008, pages 154-157 (chapter entitled Kathleen Moir Morris, 1893-1986.

Exhibited:

Exhibition, the Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, 4-27 March, 1927, no. 87.
45th Spring Exhibition, Art Association of Montreal, Montreal, 22 March – 15 April, no. 128.

Note:

From 1922 to 1929 Morris lived in Ottawa with her mother. In the winter, accompanied by her mother, she would take sketching trips to Quebec City, the Laurentians, or Berthierville, where they would usually spend six weeks each year. According to Walters, it was in Berthierville that Morris painted many depictions of her favourite subjects – snow, horses, people and buildings. Many years later, Morris described the thrill of seeing the horses, all with different coloured blankets. Meadowcroft writes that the artist had to work quickly before the people dispersed, catching the essential groupings of horses and people, then putting in the snow and background later.

Berthierville (formerly Bertier-en-Haut), on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence across from Sorel, was, according to Smith, a favourite place particularly for winter sketching. Smith quotes Michael Dunn, a good friend of Morris: “Kathleen considered Berthier (ville) the ideal place to paint. It had everything, in her opinion, snow, horses…and buildings.”

In recording the colourful everyday life of Quebec in her paintings, Prakash explains that by using strong compositions and a powerful brush stroke, Morris was able to transform visible experience into a living art form. Prakash concludes by observing that “Morris’s passion for life and love for her subject matter enlivened her work; the street scenes she celebrated conveyed the joie de vivre that prevailed in the seemingly mundane world of small-town Quebec in the early twentieth century. Kathleen Morris held up a mirror to Canada, and presented the country with her vision, finding quiet joy in life wherever she looked.”

Property of the Montefiore Club, Montreal
Sold to Benefit the Jewish Community Foundation, Montreal

CONDITION DETAILS

For condition information please contact the specialist.

LOT 59
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About Condition Ratings

  • 5 Stars: Excellent - No discernable damage, flaws or imperfections
  • 4 Stars: Very Good - Minor flaws or imperfections visible only under close inspection using specialised instruments or black light
  • 3 Stars: Good - Minor flaws visible upon inspection under standard lighting
  • 2 Stars: Fair - Exhibits flaws or damage that may draw the eye under standard lighting
  • 1 Star: Poor - Flaws or damage immediately apparent under standard lighting (examples: missing components, rips, broken glass, damaged surfaces, etc.)

Note: Condition ratings and condition details are the subjective opinions of our specialists and should be used as a guide only. Waddington’s uses due care when preparing condition details, however, our staff are not professional restorers or conservators. Condition details and reports are not warranties and each lot is sold “as is” in accordance with the buyer’s terms and conditions of sale. In all cases the prospective purchaser is responsible for inspecting the property themselves prior to placing a bid.