Watershed Magazine has partnered with two of our region’s most valuable cultural assets – The John M. Parrott Gallery in Belleville and the Art Gallery of Northumberland (AGN) in Cobourg – to highlight select works from their permanent collections.
A.Y. JACKSON, KNOWN AS “ROBUST, ADVENTUROUS, A MAN OF THE SOIL…” was one of the founding members of Canada’s Group of Seven artists. Born in Montreal, Jackson was drawn to the landscapes of his native province.
Charles C. Hill, retired curator of Canadian art at the National Gallery, notes, “It was the changing seasons that attracted A.Y., not the bright greens of summer, nor the blank whiteness of winter, but the flow of winter to spring or the blaring up of summer into autumn.” Jackson’s long strokes of purple and blue interpret the movement, the strength and the temperature of the frigid water as it flows south to join the mighty Ottawa River during the spring run-off. The rich sienna soil set against remaining patches of snow hint of the landscape’s rebirth as the season unfolds.
The AGN focuses its collection on Canadian works. As the largest public art gallery in Northumberland County, the mandate of the AGN is to collect, preserve, present and interpret works of art, while at the same time embracing its responsibility to engage and educate the community and contribute to its overall cultural knowledge. “Gatineau River, Gracefield” is on permanent loan from the Ontario Heritage Trust.
