PROVENANCE
Galerie Royale, Vancouver
Private Collection, Vancouver
Fine Canadian Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, November 28, 2013, lot 142
Private Collection, Vancouver

At the turn of the twentieth century, Victoria offered little stimulation for an ambitious artist. It had neither an art gallery nor an art society, and creative opportunities were scarce. When Emily Carr was offered a teaching post at the Vancouver Ladies’ Art Club in 1906, she seized the opportunity. Vancouver, though still in its commercial infancy, had a burgeoning artistic community, with exhibitions held through the Vancouver Studio Club and an active art association. The city’s harbour was a thriving economic hub, with Burrard Inlet and Coal Harbour lined with docks, shipping facilities and packing houses.

Carr’s time at the Ladies’ Art Club, however, was short-lived. A fiercely independent artist, she found herself at odds with the expectations of her students—society women who sought a more polished, conventional approach. Frustrated by these constraints, she left to establish her own studio at 570 Granville Street, where she taught on her own terms. She also instructed students at two private schools in North Vancouver. These ventures proved both successful and fulfilling, yet teaching left her with limited time for painting. While she occasionally worked alongside her students, most of her own work was completed during the summer, when she traveled to locations such as Stanley Park to capture the city’s evolving landscape. Consequently, watercolours from this period are rare.

Despite these limitations on her time, Carr’s reputation grew. In 1908, she co-founded the BC Society of Artists, exhibiting regularly alongside fellow painters. Collectors began to acquire her works, solidifying her status as a rising talent. Her time in Vancouver proved formative, but in July 1910, she left for France, embarking on a transformative journey that would redefine her artistic vision.

Among the standout works from this period, Gore Avenue Slip is a testament to Carr’s ability to capture both the energy and atmosphere of Vancouver’s working harbour. The painting’s vibrant yet harmonious palette infuses the composition with a striking immediacy—cool blues and greys evoke the crisp coastal air, while rich ochres and umbers bring warmth to the bustling dock. The reflection of boats and structures on the water is rendered with a fluid, masterful hand, a hallmark of Carr’s skill in manipulating washes.

Beyond its aesthetic merit, Gore Avenue Slip (the street being named after a surveyor general of BC) is also a valuable historical document. The dockside activity—marked by a tugboat, sailboats, a horse-drawn cart and workers engaged in their daily tasks—offers an authentic glimpse into the rhythms of early twentieth-century Vancouver. The presence of Asian fishermen, likely part of the city’s growing immigrant workforce, speaks to the multicultural fabric of the waterfront economy. The wooden sheds, modest and functional, reflect the simplicity of industrial structures at the time, while the distant North Shore mountains remain largely untouched, hinting at a Vancouver still on the brink of rapid expansion.

Carr’s technical prowess is on full display in this watercolour. Her layering of transparent washes creates a luminous quality, while her controlled yet expressive brushwork brings movement and life to the scene. She balances precision with spontaneity—her sky is atmospheric yet loose, while architectural details are carefully delineated without feeling rigid. This delicate interplay between structure and fluidity imbues the painting with both immediacy and depth, making Gore Avenue Slip not only a superb example of Carr’s early work but also a vital record of Vancouver’s evolving waterfront.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars