Ice Cutting, Bair-Saint-Paul 1920

Clarence Gagnon likely painted Ice Cutting, Bair-Saint-Paul with oil paint, using brushes to apply expressive marks to the canvas surface. This work is striking for its depiction of manual labor in a winter landscape. The labor involved is not just the work of the artist, but also the physical exertion of ice cutting. We can see two figures extracting blocks of ice from a frozen body of water. These large blocks, rendered with thick, almost translucent brushstrokes, are being loaded onto a horse-drawn sled. What is striking is how Gagnon does not shy away from showing the realities of working-class life. It offers a glimpse into the activities of the individuals who harvested ice to preserve food before refrigeration became widespread. The painting is a testament to the labor that goes into meeting society's basic needs. By bringing our attention to these aspects, it encourages us to consider a much broader definition of art history, one that values all forms of making equally.