Sold for: $99,450

PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the Artist
By descent to the present Private Collection, Ontario

LITERATURE
William Kurelek, A Prairie Boy's Winter, 1973, a second version of this painting reproduced, unpaginated

William Kurelek’s depictions of the Canadian land and its rural people are often based on recollections from his youth. Raised with a typical slate of farm chores, such as milking cows, feeding chickens and gathering eggs, he was used to being around farm animals. Calling Pigs to Feed elicits, in anyone who has ever fed pigs, a shared understanding of this unique experience. Pigs are very eager feeders, and the sound of a certain whistle, a particular call, or the clanging of a feed bucket will get their attention long before the feed hits the trough. Strong and determined, they jostle noisily to be the first at the meal. In this scene, Kurelek conveys the mix of fascination and fear that the child likely feels by positioning the youngster behind a fence post, which acts as a barricade to the eager pigs while still allowing a close view of the frenzy. The child’s mother (we presume) wisely watches the bolting pigs as she dumps their corn, anticipating an imminent assault on the trough. It is a quintessential Kurelek farming image, finely detailed and filled with humour.

This painting is in the original frame made by Kurelek.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars