High Tide at Dieppe
Artist
James Macdonald Barnsley
West Flamboro, Ontario, 1861 – Verdun, Quebec, 1929
Title
High Tide at Dieppe
Date
1886
Materials
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
111.7 x 152.2 cm
Credits
Gift of David R. Morrice, inv. 1911.4
Collection
Quebec and Canadian Art
Several Canadian artists sought inspiration on the Brittany and Normandy Coasts. In 1885, Barnsley returned to Montreal with two large paintings now in the Museum’s collection, anticipating James Wilson Morrice, who was later known for his works on this subject. Both paintings represent the port of Dieppe, which has a deep natural harbour bordered by a cliff and a long pier lined with merchants’ shops. In High Tide, Barnsley set a dialogue between the mass of moored schooners and harbour life against a backdrop of sumptuous grey and brown tonalities. This painting was acquired by Morrice’s father, who gave it to the Art Association in 1911.
