William Edwin Atkinson Shepherdess with Her Flock

WATERCOLOUR ON PAPER, SIGNED AND DATED 1902 LOWER LEFT A LYRICAL AND ATMOSPHERIC PASTORAL WATERCOLOUR BY PROMINENT EARLY CANADIAN IMPRESSIONIST WILLIAM EDWIN ATKINSON. THE SCENE CAPTURES A SHEPHERDESS IN TRADITIONAL RUSTIC GARB WITH A RED SHAWL SEATED BY A WOODEN FENCE, WATCHING OVER A FLOCK OF SHEEP 12.5 X 18 IN AT SIGHT 22.25 X 28 IN FRAMED WILLIAM EDWIN ATKINSON WAS A PROMINENT LANDSCAPE PAINTER AND AN ASSOCIATE OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN ACADEMY OF ARTS. BORN IN ENGLAND, HE MOVED TO ONTARIO AS A CHILD AND LATER TRAINED UNDER THOMAS EAKINS IN PHILADELPHIA BEFORE STUDYING AT THE ACADÉMIE JULIAN IN PARIS. HIS POETIC PASTORAL IMAGERY INTEGRATED THE LOOSE BRUSHWORK OF EUROPEAN IMPRESSIONISM WITH THE LOW, ATMOSPHERIC TONALITIES OF THE BARBIZON AND HAGUE SCHOOLS. CONSIDERED PROGRESSIVE FOR HIS ERA...