In this fantastical, dream-like scene by celebrated Winnipeg artist, Esther Warkov, ‘Lydia,’ a female child with angel-like wings, wearing period dress straddles a majestic white horse. With a career spanning more than four decades, Warkov is considered to be an important Canadian painter, sculptor and draughts person. In beautifully muted shades of pale blue-green, yellow and gray, another figure dressed in Victorian garb appears as a ghostly image behind the central character. Several other cameos of male faces create a curious border for the main painting. A tondo of another winged child appears to the right of the main painting creating a segmented panel. Known for her richly detailed, romantic work, Warkov’s surrealistic paintings also reveal her deep roots in Eastern European history. Her unique aesthetic and subjects were inspired by childhood memories of her Jewish-Russian father who owned a leather goods and machinery shop full of curious objects.

“When most people look at my work, they want to know what the symbolism is—and the truth is I don’t have any.” Esther Warkov

She held her first solo exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 1964 and since then the gallery has acquired more than fifty of her paintings and drawings. She became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1974. She exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada in 2000. Warkov’s work can be found in the National Gallery of Canada, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Vancouver Art Gallery, among others.