PROVENANCE Dr Charles Peneaud, Concarneau thence by descent Private Collection, New Zealand

LITERATURE Sydney Thompson made his first trip to Provence in 1915 and around 1925 purchased a house in Grasse. Until 1933 this became the artist's base in the South of France. With the onset of winter the family would depart Concarneau for the warmth, enjoyment and inspiration of Provence.

In this luminous, impressionistic work the artist's two young daughters, Annette and Mary, spend time relaxing beneath an arbour of green and gold vines. The blue-grey bridge spanning the canal provides a perfect backdrop and is the subject of a work held in the collection of Christchurch Art Gallery.