Lot 136: Albert Henry Robinson 1881 - 1956 Canadian oil on panel St-Tite-des-Caps

Albert Henry Robinson 1881 - 1956 Canadian oil on panel St-Tite-des-Caps
11 x 13 inches 27.9 x 33 centimeters signed and on verso titled
Provenance:Inherited by the current owner's grandmother
By descent in the family to the present Private Collection, New York St-Tite-des-Caps, on Cap Tourmente, is 40 miles north-east of Quebec City, and was a favourite sketching place for artists. In 1923, on one of Albert Robinson's almost yearly trips during the 1920s along the St. Lawrence, he sketched in St-Tite-des-Caps with Clarence Gagnon, Randolph Hewton and A.Y. Jackson. This village was in a hollow circled by hills, therefore the snow lingered there, and they could look down on it from several directions. Sketching directly from his subject outdoors was considered essential by Robinson to capture the truest light, colour and mood. His concentration was such that once Jackson had to warn Robinson that the "road" he was painting on was a frozen river, and since icecutters were working around him, he could soon float away!
St-Tite-des-Caps is rich in pictorial detail, particularly the centrepoint of the church, surrounded by the town and near a meandering stream. Robinson's light-filled palette is a symphony of pastel tones, both cool and warm, with the red side of the house packing a visual punch in the centre. This sublime Quebec village scene is from the same collection as lot 135.