Sold for: $85,250

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Montreal
By descent to the present Private Collection, UK

Kathleen Moir Morris’s family was prominent in Montreal’s Protestant community, and she studied with William Brymner and Maurice Cullen at the Art Association of Montreal. Morris was a founding member of Montreal’s Beaver Hall Group and often showed locally as well as internationally, at venues such as the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC; the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Park, London (1924 – 1925); and the First Pan-American Exhibition in Los Angeles (1925), to name a few.

Affected by a neurological disorder, Morris was supported by her mother, who was a strong defender of women’s rights. From 1922 to 1929, Morris lived in Ottawa, where Eric Brown, then director of the National Gallery of Canada, acquired her work for its collection. In 1929, Morris returned to Montreal, producing strong urban scenes such as this fine composition, an overview of layered streets from Chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges Road. This work embodies the qualities that Morris was best known for – strong structure defined by bold brush-strokes and vibrant colour, in the bright blue, orange, yellow and red house fronts. Morris balances the vertical element of the trees with the horizontal rooftops covered by snow. Groups of people on the street add a strong sense of animation to this vital urban winter scene.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars