Porte de la rue de L'Abreuvoir a Moret

Caroline Armington

Caroline Armington depicts an archway built into the Porte de Bourgogne, a 12th century fortified wall flanking Moret-sur-Loing village which connects to Monmartre. Situated along the Loring river - a tributary of the Seine - it was a place of activity for the villagers who used the river port for commerce and for laundry day. In her etching, the archway provides shade as people go about their daily routine. Beyond, the glassy surface of the Loing drifts by.

In 1917, Caroline and Frank Armington were remporarily living in Paris after their trip to Europe to sketch the sites was stalled by the ever-encroaching spread of the Great War. Offered the chance to leave France for the safety of their Canadian home, they opted instead to remain and volunteer with the French Army as a nurse and orderly, respectively. The medieval structures of Moret-sur-Loing were a point of interest to Armington when she had breaks between nursing shifts.