W. (James Wilson) Morrice was born in Montreal in 1865, two years before Canada became a nation. He studied in France at the Academie Julien and with the Barbizon painter Henri Harpignies. He became one of Canada’s best-known Impressionist artists. Morrice resided in Paris, France, but returned to Canada every winter until 1914 to visit his family. Morrice enjoyed the Parisienne café scene and was a popular figure in the Paris art community. By 1900, Morrice had achieved international fame. Only after his death in 1924, however, was his art appreciated in Canada where he is now considered a pivotal artist. The following generation of Canadian artists was significantly influenced by his work. The Ferry, Quebec was acquired by The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa in 1939.
The Ferry, Quebec was painted in 1907 from a sketch done during a winter visit to Quebec in 1896-1897. Looking at this painting makes me shiver! A small white ferry is sailing across the frigid blue-grey St. Lawrence River from Levis to Quebec City. The impressionistically painted river seems more an ice flow than a waterway. The ferry’s black funnel and a swirl of black smoke, taller than the ferry itself, draws the viewer’s eye from the white coldness of the river towards the late afternoon pinkish sky and the vertical of the snowy cliffs in the background. The horse-drawn taxis and their drivers stand near the sheds on the dock among various tones of white and grey waiting motionless in the cold for their passengers to arrive. Brrr! Where’s my coffee?
- Norman Clark
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