CANADIAN POST~WAR & CONTEMPORARY ART - Heffel

HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE 21
12 WILLIAM KURELEK
ARCA OC OSA 1927 ~ 1977
Ploughing with Horses on the Prairies
mixed media on board, initialed and dated 1965
21 x 25 3/4 in, 53.3 x 65.4 cm
PROVENANCE:
The Isaacs Gallery Ltd., Toronto
Galerie Dresdnere, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto
William Kurelek’s seemingly simple themes of play, work, church and
school belie the complex relationships between people, their God and
their land that he knew so well. His depictions of family relationships, the
significance of simple actions and the tiny dramas of everyday life become
increasingly complex as one studies his works more carefully. His beautiful
and exacting surfaces, achieved by incising into partially dried paint with
a sharp tool, are incredibly detailed, with coloured pencil and mixed
media techniques often being used. They are consistently precise, and
echo the characteristics of the land and the people they depict ~ wizened
by extremes of climate, hard work, and devout religious practice.
In this simple scene of a farmer ploughing his fields, we see the plainly clad
farmer riding an old~style plough pulled by a team. A foal follows the team
and birds follow the plough picking at the newly exposed insects. In the
distance, a pile of stubble burns. While the presence of fire is somewhat
ominous in the dry field, the farmer’s posture tells us everything is as it
should be. Nature, through the foal, the birds and the fire, is simply
renewing itself.
ESTIMATE: $25,000 ~ 35,000
12