Lot 57: WILLIAM KURELEK, R.C.A., LUMBERJACK, mixed media on masonite, 11.25 ins x 11.25 ins; 28 cms x 28 cms

WILLIAM KURELEK, R.C.A.LUMBERJACKmixed media on masonitesigned with monogramme and dated ‘71 11.25 ins x 11.25 ins; 28 cms x 28 cms Provenance:Private Collection, Australia (a gift of the artist)William Kurelek (1927-1977) had a difficult relationship with his father whose expectations of physical stamina and practical resourcefulness in his sons William could not meet. After completing high school in Winnipeg, and in order to earn money for university, Kurelek went to work as a lumberjack in northern Ontario during the summer of 1946, aged nineteen. He also hoped to prove his manhood to his father, however, this experience did not improve relations with his family. In 1951, Kurelek again went to work in the lumber camps, this time in northern Quebec and Ontario, south of James Bay, to earn money for a trip to Europe. Much of Kurelek’s art is autobiographical and historical in nature: he painted his memories of growing up on the prairies and the history of the Ukrainian people in Canada, for example. He also recorded his experience of working as a lumberjack in paintings, some of which were accompanied by prose and published in 1974 in Lumberjack: Paintings and Story by William Kurelek (Tundra Books of Montreal). To capture the traditional way of life in the lumber camps, Kurelek relied on memory, sketches, and old photos that he had sent home to his family. The paintings also served a didactic purpose, illustrating how timber was harvested, to which his highly detailed use of mixed media was well-suited.This lot depicts a lumberjack, holding his saw in his left hand, as he selects a felled tree to cut into shorter lengths. Having chopped down a number of trees, he begins to prepare them for stacking in a cord. A full cord (a measure of firewood or pulpwood, 4 feet wide x 4 feet high x 8 feet long) is pictured in the background. The timber would be cut into 4 foot lengths, then stacked in a cradle held in place by stakes at either end. In his book, Kurelek described this work as time-consuming and frustrating, especially if the logs were slippery and slid out of the cradle.Estimate: $20,000–30,000