Charlevoix County

Lawley found his inspiration for this exquisite painting near a farm in the magnificent landscape of Quebec’s Charlevoix County. The painting is remarkable for the stone farmhouse, painted with purposeful touches of brown and gray on a cream coloured base. Lawley’s primary focus was the horses. Maybe only in the company of F.S. Coburn, there was no other Canadian artist more interested in painting them. Here Lawley has painted three work horses harnessed to their empty utility sleds, preparing for a day of labour. The barn directly behind the house, as well as the one in the background, have sagging rooflines, warped over time by heavy snow loads and age. This feature was characteristic of regional barns and had inspired earlier artists such as A.Y. Jackson, who saw these forms as being in harmony with the natural environment.

Douglas Lawley was a dedicated, excellent and revered teacher. On weekends, he would set out in the city to draw and paint his beloved horses, customarily finding them on Mount Royal and at McGill’s Roddick Gates. Important compositions like the one offered here, painted in the Charlevoix region, were the result of more lengthy sketching trips at spring break.