Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Côté, CAC, OSA, RCA
born Arthabaska, Québec, 1869; died Daytona Beach, Florida, 1937
River Magog
1913
oil on canvas
99.1 x 78.7 cm
©Government of Ontario Art Collection, Archives of Ontario

The youngest of ten children born in rural Québec, Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Côté began his career as a church decorator.  He then joined the many Canadian artists of the period who traveled to Paris to study under French masters at the École des Beaux-Arts.  Upon his return to Canada, he applied impressionist techniques to the landscape of his native Québec, expressing light using a delicate dappling effect.  Suzor-Côté often painted winter scenes and had a particular interest in depicting the play of light on snow and water surfaces, as exemplified in this work.  Suzor-Côté’s paintings appear in collections across Canada, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada and the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec.