Additional Images

Provenance:

Private Collection, Hudson, Quebec

Literature:

Dorothy Pfeiffer, "John Little ARCA," The Gazette, April 18, 1964.

Note:

The streets of Montreal were John Little’s fieldwork. He set about documenting its changing face. As Dorothy Pfeiffer explains, though, it goes beyond this. "Those bemoaning the seemingly ruthless demolition of hundreds of Montreal's gracious old-world homes and other buildings, the disappearance in the name of progress of various little private nooks and parks, and the often callous disposal of dignified stone pillars and amusing cornices will gain nostalgic pleasure from John Little's show, for he has dedicated his paintings to the preservation of such items for posterity. Yet so spirited and relaxed is his painting technique, that his work can in no manner today be labelled as merely documentary. He paints city streets ankle-deep in slush, where his not-quite-ripe olivegreen mixture carpets pavements with a mélange resembling Quebec limestone. He peoples his old streets and secluded sylvan sites with groups of today's spirited adults and children . . . Three important qualities it certainly contains: assurance, individuality and artistic honesty."