The Landscape Expressed

 We begin today with Ice Cutters, Longueil, a 1923 painting by Maurice Cullen.

Yacht Racing is the title of this 1914 painting by Henrietta Mabel May.

In 1915, May painted Knitting.

Mont-Saint-Hilaire is a region southeast of Montreal. Ozias Leduc, whose work blended impressionism and symbolism, was productive in this place.

The Choquette Farm, Beloeil was painted by Leduc in 1901.

From that same year, he painted Fall Plowing.

Autumn Landscape, Saint-Hilaire is a 1915 painting by Leduc.

Landscape At Dusk is by Leduc, dating around 1910.

Grey Effect (Snow) is a 1914 work by Leduc.

This is his Blue Cumulus, a 1913 painting.

Day's End is the title of this 1913 work.

Impressionism On A Canvas

 Continuing on where we left off yesterday, here we see Snow Effect, Montreal, by James Wilson Morrice, dating to 1906.

Robert Pilot painted St. Patrick's Church, Montreal in 1916.

Cab Stand, Dominion Square, Montreal, QC is a 1911 painting by Maurice Cullen.

Winter, Montreal (The Pink House) dates around 1905-07, and is by Morrice.

Old Houses, Montreal was painted by Cullen around 1908.

Cullen painted The Ice Harvest, Longueuil around 1916. 

The Ice Harvest by Cullen dates around 1913. 

Ice harvesting was done on the river for decades, with blocks of ice cut, stored, and sold to large and small clients for cooling in the time before refrigerators. A display case near the paintings features an ice saw and ice tongs, standard tools in this line of work.  

Art From The River Of Dreams

 Late in July I stopped by the Canadian Museum of History for a return visit to a temporary exhibit before it closes later this month. It concentrates on Impressionist art in the St. Lawrence Valley.

Here we have The Port of Montreal, by Maurice Cullen, dating to 1915.

River Of Dreams: Impressionism On The St. Lawrence gathers together art from galleries and private collections across the country. Impressionism is a personal favourite style of art for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking this in.

Marc-Aurele De Foy Suzor-Cote painted Smog, Port of Montreal in 1914.

Here we see another painting by Cullen. St. James Cathedral, Dominion Square, Montreal dates from 1909-12.

Street Scene, Montreal, is the work of Henrietta Mabel May, painted around 1913.

Two paintings by the same artist, Robert Pilot. At top we have Lachine Canal, done in 1916. Below is Glow Effect, dating to 1919.

Montreal in this period was the dominant city in Canada, only eclipsed decades later by Toronto. 

Winter Evening On Craig Street is by Cullen, dating around 1912.

Blizzard, Craig Street, Montreal also dates to that year, and is another Cullen work.

This is Snowstorm, Evening, by Cullen, dating around 1911.

A Water Fountain By The City Hall

 Continuing where I left off yesterday. Leaving the murals behind, I came into this park behind Gatineau City Hall, which is dominated by a large water fountain. Other buildings around here- many of them connected by bridge tunnels- include the sprawling federal government Portage complex, a provincial government building, and a convention centre. This is at the heart of all of it.

This is off to one side of the park. I can't recall its title, and couldn't find the sign. The fountain is visible in the distance at left.

This colourful sign has a three dimensional feel. 

I took some more shots.

The large deer head on the far wall is made of recyclables.

From here, it was off to the nearby museum, which we'll get into tomorrow.