Arthur Fortescue (Art) McKay
(Canadian, 1926–2000)
Untitled, Brown on Black
1979
Enamel on masonite
Board: 24 × 48 in. (61.0 × 121.9 cm)
Framed: 26.5 × 50 in. (67.3 × 127.0 cm) (H × W)
Executed in 1979, Untitled, Brown on Black is a large-format horizontal abstract composition by Arthur Fortescue McKay. The artwork features a distinct split-compartment structure created using McKay’s characteristic scraping technique with industrial enamel on a masonite panel.
The texture was produced by applying multiple layers of enamel directly onto the hardboard and utilizing a blade or squeegee tool to scrape across the surface while the medium was wet. This subtractive process exposes underlying layers and forms a network of lines, ridges, and geometric contours. The palette is strictly monochromatic, constrained to deep black and warm brown tones. The composition deliberately abandons classical symmetry to create a "tranquil imbalance," reflecting McKay's interest in Zen Buddhist philosophy.
McKay was of Anglo-Métis heritage and a core member of the Regina Five, a group of painters who advanced abstract art in Western Canada during the post-war era. Panels of this scale demonstrate his career-long focus on non-objective structure, physical texture, and industrial mediums.
Member of the historic Regina Five, featured in the National Gallery of Canada’s landmark 1961 exhibition Five Painters from Regina
Coordinated the 1957 and 1959 Emma Lake Artists' Workshops featuring Will Barnet and abstract expressionist Barnett Newman
Selected by American critic Clement Greenberg as one of only three Canadian painters included in the landmark 1964 Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum
Subject of a major career retrospective organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery in 1997
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, BC)
MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina, SK)
Remai Modern (Saskatoon, SK)
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / MMFA (Montreal, QC)
Arthur Fortescue (Art) McKay
(Canadian, 1926–2000)
Untitled, Brown on Black
1979
Enamel on masonite
Board: 24 × 48 in. (61.0 × 121.9 cm)
Framed: 26.5 × 50 in. (67.3 × 127.0 cm) (H × W)
Executed in 1979, Untitled, Brown on Black is a large-format horizontal abstract composition by Arthur Fortescue McKay. The artwork features a distinct split-compartment structure created using McKay’s characteristic scraping technique with industrial enamel on a masonite panel.
The texture was produced by applying multiple layers of enamel directly onto the hardboard and utilizing a blade or squeegee tool to scrape across the surface while the medium was wet. This subtractive process exposes underlying layers and forms a network of lines, ridges, and geometric contours. The palette is strictly monochromatic, constrained to deep black and warm brown tones. The composition deliberately abandons classical symmetry to create a "tranquil imbalance," reflecting McKay's interest in Zen Buddhist philosophy.
McKay was of Anglo-Métis heritage and a core member of the Regina Five, a group of painters who advanced abstract art in Western Canada during the post-war era. Panels of this scale demonstrate his career-long focus on non-objective structure, physical texture, and industrial mediums.
Member of the historic Regina Five, featured in the National Gallery of Canada’s landmark 1961 exhibition Five Painters from Regina
Coordinated the 1957 and 1959 Emma Lake Artists' Workshops featuring Will Barnet and abstract expressionist Barnett Newman
Selected by American critic Clement Greenberg as one of only three Canadian painters included in the landmark 1964 Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum
Subject of a major career retrospective organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery in 1997
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Vancouver Art Gallery (Vancouver, BC)
MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina, SK)
Remai Modern (Saskatoon, SK)
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / MMFA (Montreal, QC)
