Vendu à l'enchère chez Heffel (L'automne 2016 - 4e séance - la Collection Peter et Joanne Brown), 23 novembre 2016, (Lot 241) : 47 200 $ CAD.
Bibliographie :
Dorothy M. Farr, J.W. Beatty, 1869 - 1941, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1981, page 27
John William Beatty was passionate about the Canadian landscape, and despite his painting excursions to England, Italy and Spain, he felt the Canadian landscape was the best subject for his brush. In 1913 he stated - regarding Canada - "In twenty years or little more, it will see a development of a national art that will put all the rest of the world to the blush." His influence on Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven was strong and can be seen in their works. In Thomson's sketches we can see Beatty's light, in A.Y. Jackson's panels we can see Beatty's colour, and in the work of J.E.H. MacDonald we can see Beatty's methods of composition. This sun-dappled Quebec farmhouse is a sparkling jewel of a work. The golden house is accented by a purplish roof and green windows, and the touch of a bright orange door is gently softened by the placement of the brushy tree. Dignified and serene, Beatty's subjects tell us their story through sunshine and shadow, colour and light.
The title of the 1929 oil sketch for Quebec Farm House identifies the location of this work as Petite Rivière, Quebec.