Willard Morse Mitchell — The Château de Ramezay

In this winter miniature, Willard Morse Mitchell captures the historic entrance of Montréal’s Château de Ramezay with his signature crisp, jewel-like watercolour technique. The scene centres on the distinctive arched gateway supported by two rounded stone pillars—an architectural motif Mitchell returned to frequently when depicting Old Montréal’s heritage sites. Snow clings to their tops in thick white caps, with icicles hanging in delicate blue strokes that shimmer in the cold light.

Beyond the gateway, the Château’s façade is rendered in muted greens, ochres, and stone greys, softened by the powdery snowfall that blankets the ground. Mitchell’s characteristic economy of line is evident in the tiny, precise marks suggesting window frames, rooflines, and the layered geometry of the historic building. Bare winter trees rise at both sides of the composition, their vertical rhythms balancing the rounded mass of the gateway pillars.

The palette is cool and atmospheric—lavenders, blues, forest greens—evoking the stillness of a Montréal winter morning. Mitchell’s miniatures often celebrate the timeless charm of Québec’s architectural landmarks, and here he distils the essence of the Château de Ramezay into an image that feels both intimate and quietly monumental.