PROVENANCE
Mrs. David Ross, whose first husband was James Gibb, friend and patron of the Artist
By descent to John Theodore Ross, Quebec City
By descent to a Private Collection, Vancouver Island
Private Collection, Montreal
Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, November 8, 2001, lot 18, back cover lot
Private Collection, Montreal
Sold sale of Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, November 24, 2005, lot 146
Private Collection, Quebec

It is probably fair to say that for Cornelius Krieghoff, the most important season was winter. His images of the habitants of Quebec playing, working and living their lives in a world of white are among his most popular. The effects of snow and snowfall, so clearly seen in this canvas, suggest Krieghoff's deep understanding of his adopted home and a keen eye to what might prove to be popular subjects for his patrons, the merchants and military men of Montreal and Quebec City. Krieghoff paid attention to all the aspects of the landscape - the varieties of trees, the grey expanse of the sky and the open path. Similarly, he was careful to depict the costumes of the hunters and details of their guns and to suggest their hardship in the snowstorm. In common with his best work, the element of narrative - here, a caribou hunt - is an important aspect of the painting. Krieghoff was aware that many of his paintings would not remain in Canada, and such a scene would have an element of exoticism for a viewer in England. As it happened, a friend of the artist, James Gibb, originally purchased the work. For Gibb it probably had a more personal association - perhaps an experience shared with the artist or a fellow hunter. Over 150 years later the painting is, for us, a valuable record of our history and a glimpse of a lost way of life. Former owner John Theodore Ross owned several important Krieghoff paintings. Ross owned the masterpieces Merrymaking, 1860, now in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB, and Crack in the Ice, which was part of the Kenneth Thomson Collection. On verso is a photocopy of a black and white photograph showing Caribou Hunters in a Winter Snow Storm hanging in the Ross family home along with their other masterpieces by the artist.

On verso is a photocopy of a black and white photograph showing Caribou Hunters in a Winter Snow Storm hanging in the Ross family home along with their other masterpieces by Krieghoff.

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