Willard M. Mitchell’s The Island of Orleans is a small watercolour drawing of a winter scene on Île d’Orléans, Quebec, showing a snow-covered French Canadian village landscape with a yellow farmhouse, outbuildings, distant trees, a church or windmill-like tower on the horizon, and an ox team pulling a red sleigh along a curved snowy road. The work has a loose, decorative handling, with transparent washes of blue, green, yellow and red giving the scene a bright, folk-like charm rather than a highly detailed realism.

The image presents Île d’Orléans as an old rural settlement, with the ox team, simple houses, low barns and snowy fields all reinforcing the historic French Canadian character described on the back. The blue shadows in the snow and the soft broken sky give the scene a crisp winter atmosphere, while the yellow house and red sleigh add warmth and visual focus. The composition is modest but evocative, capturing the island as a place of tradition, quiet travel and early Canadian rural life.

The back label is especially useful. It identifies the subject as “The Island of Orleans” and describes the island as a place associated with “writers, poets and painters,” “old houses, windmills, ox-teams” and the “spirit of French Canada.” It also states: “This is a genuine water colour drawing and a hand carved frame by Willard M. Mitchell.” That confirms both the medium and the artist attribution. The handwritten name “Marg. Watson” appears below the printed text, likely indicating a former owner.