Ste-Agathe

Provenance:
Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal

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Private Collection, British Columbia

Exhibitions:
Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., Montreal, Sam Borenstein, October 25 - November 6, 1971

Literature:
William Kuhns and Léo Rosshandler, Sam Borenstein, 1978, page 62, reproduced page 133 titled as Street in Ste. Agathe

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Sam Borenstein, Galerie Walter Klinkhoff Inc., 1971, reproduced front cover of the exhibition invitation
Notes:
The early 1960s were an exciting period for Sam Borenstein, as after 30 years of painting, his work began to erupt with a fresh and wildly unique style. During this period, Borenstein and his family bought an abandoned schoolhouse at Lac Brûlé, which was transformed into their family cottage. Within close proximity to the cottage were locations that Borenstein frequently visited: Val David, Lac Marois and, as dramatically illustrated in this work, the village of Ste-Agathe. The Laurentians inspired Borenstein, and William Kuhns states of this period: "Perspective, scale, line, and form, the rudiments he had mastered over thirty years of painting, became seething, elusive elements of a tumultuous vision: a storming of whites and blues, in which a familiar landscape rippled, quaked, and roared from within." Ste-Agathe indeed roars with colour and movement, and as a result of such strength, the work is vividly reminiscent of Borenstein's greatest influence, Dutch Post-Impressionist master Vincent van Gogh. Similar to van Gogh, Borenstein searched for his own painterly language and expression to portray the landscape he was so clearly moved by. Dramatic, almost flamboyant, Ste- Agathe is emotionally charged and is a significant example of Borenstein's most passionate and accomplished period.