Additional Images

Provenance:

Galerie Claude Lafitte, Montreal, QC
Private Collection, Toronto, ON
Waddington's Auctioneers, Toronto, 17 Sep 2020, lot 60
Private Collection, Ontario

Note:

The village of Wakefield lies along the banks of the Gatineau River, just north of Ottawa. This region was a frequent destination for Jackson during the late 1940s through the 1960s. During these years, he produced numerous vibrant portrayals of small clusters of farms and their outbuildings—scenes that would become some of his most beloved works. Jackson often chose to sketch here in the late winter and early spring.

In this particular painting, we see a charming arrangement of simple dwellings and barns, bathed in the golden light of the afternoon sun. The composition is both harmonious and engaging, which may explain why Jackson selected this exact vantage point to set up his stool. The eye is gently led from building to building, finally resting on the horizon, where a serene, cloudless sky stretches in a brilliant shade of azure. The artist’s technical mastery is unmistakable in this intimate glimpse of rural life in a Canadian riverside village.