William Kurelek
ARCA OC OSA
1927 - 1977
Canadian
My Wing Is Really Broken!
mixed media on board, 1973
signed and on verso titled and inscribed “See ‘Prairie Boy’s Summer’ for explanation of this picture”
9 1/4 x 17 in, 23.5 x 43.2 cm
estimate: $10,000 - $15,000 CAD
preview at: Heffel Toronto – 13 Hazelton Ave
provenance
The Isaacs Gallery Ltd., Toronto
Important Canadian Art, Sotheby's Toronto, May 2001, lot 27
Private Collection, Toronto
literature
William Kurelek, A Prairie Boy's Summer, 1975, unpaginated
Here, William Kurelek showcases an unusual event in the prairie countryside—a distraction display of a killdeer, a kind of plover, as a way of protecting its eggs. A very similar scene is described in A Prairie Boy’s Summer, in which Kurelek describes stumbling upon a nest while herding cows through the field: “A killdeer’s nest lies flat, naked and exposed on the ground, and this one was so cleverly camouflaged that William had found it only by accident. One day as he was passing the mother bird flew up, then fell to the ground some yards away, cying and fluttering, pretending her wing was broken. He knew from the extra-big fuss she made he must be very close to her nest.”
This work is in the original frame made by Kurelek.
All prices are in Canadian Dollars