PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Toronto
Canadian Art, Joyner Waddington’s, May 30, 2006, lot 44
Private Collection, Toronto

William Kurelek’s paintings frequently drew from childhood memories of growing up on the Prairies, and they often struck a balance between romantic narrative and evocative self-portraiture. Here, Kurelek portrays a boy, possibly himself, bent in concentration, face flushed with cold, pressing together snowballs in his ungloved hands. We get a sense that this is preparation for a snowball fight—what else?—but the opposing side is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the boy is placed at the forefront of a sweeping, empty prairie field. Fencing seems to suggest that we are in a farm- or schoolyard, while the high, snowy horizon and frosted sky emphasize the chill in the air. A small raven and a distant barn are the only other signs of life in this winter landscape. The boy, bundled in heavy wool, his boots flecked with snow, is far from lonesome: entirely focused on the task at hand, he is almost giddy with the anticipation of fun.

The figure was clearly one that Kurelek felt was important. In an earlier work, Snowball Weather (lot 36 in this sale), a similar boy also appears—same hat, still diligently packing snowballs—and now shown in the midst of his schoolmates’ wider battle, firmly locating both scenes in the schoolyard. By expanding the scale and focusing on the single figure in this later iteration, swapping action for portraiture, Kurelek emphasizes the introspective aspects of childhood play, rooting the work in a sense of personal nostalgia. This sense of the individual experience located in the community is at the heart of many of Kurelek’s works, and Young Canadian Soldier is a joyful example of the artist’s lingering fondness for his remembered childhood.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars