This mid-sized canvas by A.Y. Jackson is classic in many respects. Firstly, it features the beloved Jackson motif of a horse and sleigh in winter, an element of some of the artist’s most sought after works. Its locale is also key: Lac Millette is located north of the communities of Saint-Sauveur and Sainte-Adèle, an area frequented by Jackson throughout this career. A favourite painting place for decades, he often traveled to rural Quebec accompanied by other artists such as Edwin Holgate, A.H. Robinson, and Frederick Banting. Preferring to visit this area in the spring, his aim was to both avoid the bitter cold of mid-winter and to capture the ephemeral effects of sunlight on snow, delicately showcased here. Additionally, the work’s high vantage point permits the viewer to take in a vista of the region while still capturing the brightly coloured facades of the rural homes.

Owned by a single Nova Scotia family who acquired the work directly from the artist shortly after it was produced, this fresh and joyous image shows Jackson happily at home in one of Canada most magnificent regions.