Additional Images

Provenance:

Kastel Gallery Inc., Montreal, QC;
Private collection, Montreal, QC

Note:

Little painted rue de Bullion several times during his career. Named for Angélique de Bullion, a Paris-born philanthropist influential in the foundation of Montreal, the street runs through the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood.

Many of the subjects Little painted were slated for demolition, and the assault on Montreal’s traditional architecture was a central preoccupation for the artist. Much of his work attempts to chronicle the city’s urban heritage before it disappears, seen by Little as an architectural “family album.” However, in the case of this urban scene, the buildings it depicts appear to be extant: located at 4017 and 4013 rue de Bullion, facing towards rue Napoleon—give or take a few trees.

It is also worth noting that someone—perhaps the artist—has written out the entire roster of the 1935 minor league baseball team the Montreal Royals on the stretcher bars on the verso, right down to the bat boy. The Royals are perhaps best known for having fielded Jackie Robinson for the 1946 season. It is a mystery as to why Little wrote down this detailed list of names, as the location of Delorimier Downs, where the team played, is in the Ville Marie neighbourhood—a fair distance away. One wonders if one of the players lived on rue de Bullion, or the subject was top of mind while Little was painting—perhaps a game of memory?

See street view