PROVENANCE
The Art Emporium, Vancouver
A.K. Prakash & Associates Inc., Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Naomi Jackson Groves, A.Y.’s Canada, 1968, page 78

While A.Y. Jackson painted in every corner of Canada, he maintained a strong, lifelong connection to the Quebec countryside. He returned to his beloved home province nearly every spring, exploring the north and south shores of the St. Lawrence River and painting the bucolic landscape, villages and farms. In the 1940s, even as Jackson lamented the modern amenities threatening his refuge, he found fresh inspiration in the changing aspects of the natural landscape. In 1945 Jackson wrote, “The weather and the endless effects of light that plays over the country are all still here to stir the imagination.”

In this dynamic and impressionistic canvas, Jackson captures the changing season in a moment of peak transition. Winter’s snow stubbornly lingers, as tiny sprinklings of green and red buds emerge from the golden patches of exposed earth. A vigorous wind envelops the entirety of the scene, sweeping the sparse grasses across the canvas, and generating circular swirls in the pink-purple sky and elevated tree canopy. Quintessential elements of Jackson’s nostalgic Quebec—the slanted barn roofs and a horse with a red sleigh—are harmoniously integrated into the rolling ridges and crimson-amber palette. Spring, Quebec Farm is a bold and vital canvas, a testament to Jackson’s unparalleled creative vision.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars