SAUL WILLIAMS (1954-) ANISHINAABE, NORTH CARIBOU LAKE FIRST NATION, WEAGAMOW, ON
Kingfisher, 1977
acrylic on Arches France watermarked wove paper, 29.5 x 21.5 in (74.9 x 54.6 cm), framed, sight.
signed twice and dated, "ᓴᓇᓫ' / Saul Williams / 77".

ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500

Provenance
Private Collection, Toronto.

Saul Williams began his artistic career at the encouragement of Dr. Mary Black, a visiting linguist for whom Williams worked, providing her with translations as well as performing other household chores. While Williams's paintings assuredly sing with the influence of the senior artist Carl Ray, his calligraphic strokes which entwine colour and form are a distinctive departure from the style of his predecessor. In the present work, on a ground of velvety violet, the Kingfisher reigns — a symbol of good fortune, the bird is accompanied by fish and darting dragonflies; the swallowed prey nestled in its belly marks its success. Williams's meticulous precision as an artist is abundant in this work; the Kingfisher’s beak is detailed with meticulously rendered teeth, while the interiors of each of the animal forms are exquisitely lavished with visual details.

References: See additional details on the artist’s life and other examples in Elizabeth McLuhan, Norval Morrisseau and the Emergence of the Image Makers, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1984), pp. 99-104.