William Kurelek at Play

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  • • Volleyball (lot 321) and Lacrosse (lot 322) picture scrums of activity, two moments of truth as players gesticulate and bend in choreographies of competition.
  • While not athletically inclined, the Prairie-born, Toronto-based William Kurelek had always been captivated by play, particularly the jostle and rush of school days witnessed in Farm Children’s Games in Western Canada (1952), King of the Castle (1958-59), and Reminiscences of Youth (1968)—earlier works that came to define his artistic reputation.

  In contrast, these later paintings are more focused on the dynamics of organised physical contest: the tik-tac-toe of jumping-jack bodies; the harried surge of combatants around the goal.

• By the mid-1970s audiences beyond Canada were becoming aware of Kurelek’s art. In addition to finding representation in major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, his growing renown was aided by the mass production and distribution of his imagery through books. Between 1973 and 1976 he published 11 books—the award-winning A Prairie Boy’s Winter (1973), A Prairie Boy’s Summer (1975), and A Northern Nativity (1976) being among the best known—in which recollections and anecdotes from the artist’s childhood appear alongside photo-reproductions of paintings Kurelek prepared specifically for the publication.
• At this time Kurelek’s images were also being widely distributed as prints, a mass marketing campaign led by Pagurian Press. Publisher Christopher Ondaatje recognized the potential of Kurelek’s popular appeal, and the two bonded over a shared work ethic and immigrant backgrounds—Ceylonese and Ukrainian, respectively.

  

• Volleyball and Lacrosse are the original paintings from which Pagurian produced two editions of photolithographic prints. Kurelek’s Sporting series also includes scenes depicting tennis, hockey, football, tobogganing, fishing, hunting, skiing, sailing, ice-sailing, and golf. Created in the last year of the artist’s life, and charmingly bound by Kurelek’s handmade frames, Volleyball and Lacrosse are bright, joyous icons to life and youth.

Contributed by Andrew Kear, Head of Programs at Museum London and the past Curator of Canadian Art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Andrew co-curated the 2011/2012 touring exhibition William Kurelek: The Messenger and is author of the Art Canada Institute’s William Kurelek: Life & Work, available online at www.aci-iac.ca.

• ABOUT THE AUCTION

  Our major spring auction of Canadian and International Fine Art features an exceptional collection of important works by noted Canadian and international artists including Frederick Banting, Jack Bush, Clarence Gagnon, William Kurelek, Jean Paul Lemieux, J.W. Morrice, William Perehudoff, Takao Tanabe, Bernard Buffet, Jean Dufy, Francisco Zúñiga, Larry Poons, Jules Olitski, and many more.

  The auction is offered online May 8 – 29, 2025.

  Previews at our Toronto gallery located at 100 Broadview Avenue, are available:

  Wednesday, May 21 from 10 am to 7 pm
  Thursday, May 22 from 10 am to 5 pm
  Friday, May 23 from 10 am to 5 pm
  Saturday, May 24 from 12 pm to 4 pm
  Sunday, May 25 from 12 pm to 4 pm
  Monday, May 26 from 10 am to 5 pm
  Tuesday, May 27 from 10 am to 5 pm
  Wednesday, May 28 from 10 am to 5 pm
  Thursday, May 29 from 10 am to 12 pm

  Or by appointment.

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  Contact us to find out more.