POND HOCKEY

 

Regis Francois Gignoux (1816-1882)
   To change the subject, and to provide pictures rather than prose, I call your attention to the painting above. It can be purchased for $195,000 (USD), which is about $267,650 (CND) on Jan. 24.

   Canadians should be interested because, "This painting holds historic value as it is one of the earliest known scenes of boys playing ice hockey." Gignoux, the artist, is not from Quebec, but from Lyons, although the scene may be from Canada, or the northeastern, U.S. The painting and quote are both from Questroyal Fine Art.
  Another winter scene was found at another gallery. As well, Gignoux painted Niagara Falls. 

  He is known for his outdoor winter scenes, but this one is from underground at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. 

   Gignoux is a representative of the "Hudson River School", which, as I have indicated, produced paintings I admire. See, " The Hudson River School" and "Jasper Cropsey".

Sources: 
  Gignoux's picture is from Harvard Art Museums and this good description of the cave painting is found in: "From Historic Paintings of Mammoth Cave: Nature’s Underground Art Gallery," by Bob Thompson February 28, 2023, Kentucky Monthly. 

"Marie-François-Régis Gignoux (1816-1882) was a French landscape painter who was active in the United States from 1840-70. Gignoux visited Mammoth Cave in 1843 and painted a view of the cave entrance and the extensive Rotunda. At the bottom left is a party of four people. On the left is probably cave guide Stephen Bishop, with his torch-throwing stick and supplies for the cave trip carried around his shoulders. To the right of the guide is the artist, Gignoux (wearing the hat) and his tools of the trade to paint the underground wonder. To the right of the artist is Gignoux’s assistant seated in front of a rock with the artist’s selection of colors. Above the assistant, climbing up a ladder, is another cave guide with a number of lamps to help illuminate the darkness. What looks like a roaring fire actually is a number of the open-flame lamps brought together, which put out a great deal of smoke."