Lot 78: Horatio Walker, RCA,AWCS,RI,RSC,SAA (Canadian, 1858-1938) Sheep washing

Sheep washing
signed, inscribed and dated 'Horatio Walker 1899 copyright' (lower left)
oil on canvas stretched over a panel
68.6 x 52.5cm (27 x 20 11/16in).

Note:

Though born in Listowel, Ontario, Horatio Walker has been claimed by the United States as the “American Millet”. The artist spent much of his life in the U.S having moved to New York in 1885. While he summered regularly in Quebec, only infrequently did he exhibit in Canada. His romantic interpretation of French Canadian “peasant” life, however, such as the scene depicted in Sheep Washing, brought him enormous financial success as well as critical acclaim, even triumph. Painting in a style derived from the French Barbizon School, Walker’s pastoral works are often painted in sombre colours with restricted bursts of golden light used to focus the viewer’s attention on the central motif, character or message. According to Farr, the popularity of this style, whether in France or as transplanted to North America tended to flourish in response to economic periods which were “ruthlessly materialistic, selfishly individualistic, fraudulent, hypocritical and coarse” as collectors nostalgically harkened back to simpler times and simpler virtues: hard work, honesty, community. Though executed just prior the turn of the last century, this painting carries a relevant message for our times. With its direct and classical arrangement, stage-like depth and lighting it is more than just descriptive; it proposes an ideal that is at least as relevant today as it was 1899.

A related pencil drawing study for this work is in the collection of the London Regional Art Gallery. According to David Karel’s catalogue entry for the study, “The oil (presumably this lot) was shown in Montreal and Toronto in 1929 under No.22” and was “reproduced as a ‘Montross Print’ in 1902”. Montross was Walker’s New York agent from 1883-1923. Montross, a canny dealer, undertook to make prints of Walker’s work and, according to Karel, “The improvement in reproduction techniques greatly contributed to making Walker’s work known.” Karel continues: “This marketing strategy, evidently very effective, heightened interest in a product which was already in great demand. As Walker painted only about five canvases a year, increased pressure on the market could only drive up his prices. Walker became the most sought after artist of the day.”


Literature:
Dorothy Farr, Horatio Walker 1858-1938, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queens University, Kingston 1977, page 10 (Farr quoting J. Garraty in The Transformation of American Society 1870-1890, Harper & Row, New York, 1968).

David Karel, Horatio Walker, Musée du Quebéc, Quebéc, 1986, page 274, cat. No. 89 for the related drawing entitled “Sheep Dipping” in the collection of the London Regional Art Gallery, reproduced and pages 19-21 for a discussion of the significance of the Montross prints.

Fairbairn, M.L. "Horatio Walker and His Art" Canadian Magazine 1902 vol.XVIII ill. p.496

Caffin, Charles. "The Art of Horatio Walker" Harpers Monthly 1908 vol.CXVII ill.p.951

Provenance:
Property from the estate of the late Jane Holt Dunn, Montreal