Prolific and polemic, William Ronald (1926-1998) is one of the most accomplished and collected artists associated with the Painters Eleven group.

While Ronald and his contemporaries, were known for elevating and advancing abstraction in Canada in the 1950's, most of these artists had a fragile connection or relationship to figurative art.

This watercolor, from the most desirable chapter of his professional career, demonstrates the vitality and color dynamism for which Ronald is renowned.

This work was included in The Figure in Recent American Painting, an exhibition held at Sarah Lawrence College in upstate New York in 1958. The exhibition was lauded for bringing together the brightest contemporary artists of the period. The curatorial committee visited "50 Manhattan galleries" during the selection process!

It is worth pointing out that by this period Ronald was regarded as a preeminent (Canadian) modernist in New York City and beyond, confirmed by the acquisition of his works by the Guggenheim Museum and the MoMA.