Maurice Galbraith Cullen 1866 - 1934

Walter Klinkhoff Gallery, Montréal
Private Collection, United Kingdom

The seemingly-contradictory qualities of realism and ethereality which mark Maurice Cullen 's best works owe much to his commitment to sketching en plein air, and Spring Break-Up, Cache Riveris a testimony to his awe before nature’s majesty. Rendered in his trademark northern light, the late winter sky is aglow with a radiant lilac hue, echoed by the snow of the foreground and mountains across the river. The cooler tones of the water, the distant blue hills, and the dark trees are balanced by red inflections, which foreshadow the flowering vegetation soon to bloom, come springtime.