Clarence Alphonse Gagnon 1881 - 1942

Private Collection, Quebec City

This painting is in fair condition. It was been lined and selectively cleaned. There is craquellure throughout. Under UV, there is evidence of inpainting throughout the sky and the darker portions of the painting and old varnish fluoresces green.
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Brought up in the small village of Sainte-Rose, Quebec, Gagnon was able to study in Paris at the Académie Julian from 1904 - 1905 thanks to a monthly stipend from James Morgan, a Montreal businessman and collector. Gagnon kept a studio in Paris for much of his career, although the inspiration in his art would continue to be the Quebec scenery.

A Shepherd and his Flock is visibly indebted to the Barbizon school in both subject and treatment, a style that would have been widely embraced by the establishment of Paris in 1905 when this work was painted. This early painting demonstrates Gagnon's interest in, and capacity for, realism and the impact that other artists had on his work while he was in Paris.  Here, he met other Canadian artists including J.W. Morrice, whom he greatly admired and with whom he sketched.  Gagnon was soon to adopt Morrice's method of painting 'en plein air' and soon learned how to capture the fleeting effects of light and shadow. Morrice's influence is palpable here in Gagnon's uncharacteristic use of earth tones and spare application of paint.

This work is evocative of what other Canadian artists, such as Horatio Walker, were producing at the time. Landscapes were to remain Gagnon's favourite form of expression with his French paintings and many featured human figures, peasant types like a shepherd, goose girl, washerwomen or potato pickers.