William Kurelek - I'm Beautiful

Artist: William Kurelek
Title: I'm Beautiful
Date: 1976
Medium: lithograph
Edition: OS 1
Paper Size: 19.5” x 17”

Condition note: light, localized yellowing and discolouration in two areas of the upper margin of the sheet, as indicated in the second image.

Many of William Kurelek’s artworks depict farm life during his childhood on the Canadian Prairies, and this stone lithograph, titled I’m Beautiful, is a charming example.

This signed print is the first of two Open Studio Proofs originally assigned to the Open Studio print archive. The numbered edition was originally published in an edition of 100 by Isaacs Gallery and printed at Open Studio with Don Holman, then Director of Lithography. Holman’s embossed artist’s chop is visible in the bottom right corner of the paper.

This proof offers a rare glimpse of the lithograph as it appeared when it left the print studio. In the final released edition, Kurelek hand-coloured elements of the image, including the pig’s snout, the bucket, and details of the fence post. Hear Lynne Wynick discuss this print in this archive interview.

Signature: William Kurelek, bottom right beneath the image.
Provenance: Open Studio print archive.
Publisher: Isaacs Gallery, Toronto.