Canadian Landscape in Pastel by Berthe Des Clayes

A fine and interesting Canadian pastel landscape by the artist Berthe des Clayes (1877-1968). The work is titled ‘Autumn by the creek’ and is exactly that with a rich use of bold pastels to accentuate the seasonal colours. The technique is typical of the artist being free and quick using thick pieces of pastel. The work is signed to the lower right; ‘B des Clayes’. Berthe des Clayes (1877-1968) is most well known for her portraits and Impressionist-style landscapes of which this is an excellent example. She was the eldest of the Des Clayes sisters all of which were artists of note. Berthe travelled between Canada and England throughout her life but her art is most closely associated with the former. Her early studies took place at the Bushey School of Art in England and the Académie Julian in Paris where she studied under Tony Robert-Fleury and Jules Lefebvre. A versatile artist, she worked in oils, watercolours and pastels and won the Jessie Dow Prize twice. Her fondness for the Canadian landscape pushed her to illustrate two books: "Here and There in Montreal and the Island of Montreal" by Charles W. Stokes, and "Acadia (Nova Scotia)" published by the Dominion Atlantic Railway. One of her landscapes and two Nova Scotia harbour scenes can be found in the National Gallery of Canada. There are also works held in the collections of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the University of Calgary, the University of British Columbia and Library and Archives Canada. This work is in excellent untouched condition having never been out of the frame. The piece also retains the original gallery label on the reverse for the Watson Art Gallery of Montreal. The Watson Art Gallery was hugely influential in establishing and promoting Canadian art and artists in the early part of the twentieth century. This is a great piece of Canadian art by a fine artist and is in wonderful untouched condition.