William Ronald
(Canadian, 1926–1998)
Untitled, 1959
Watercolour on paper
Dimensions: 19 1/2 × 25 3/4 in. (49.5 × 65.4 cm)
Description
In Untitled (1959), William Ronald presents a central-image composition executed in watercolour on paper. A dense, opaque black mass dominates the field, anchored against a soft salmon-wash ground with an adjacent wash of grey tonal modeling. Executed at the height of Ronald's New York period while under contract with Kootz Gallery, the work demonstrates his signature "central image" structure, isolating a singular, potent abstract form within an open pictorial field.
Ronald’s practice was instrumental in introducing Abstract Expressionism to mainstream Canadian art. By applying the scale, gestural weight, and immediacy of the New York School to works on paper, Untitled explores tension between physical opacity, fluid wash, and negative space.
Major Accolades & Recognition
Founder and instigator of Painters Eleven (1953), the pioneering collective that introduced Abstract Expressionism to English Canada.
Recipient of the National Award in the International Guggenheim Competition (1956).
Represented in New York by the landmark Kootz Gallery (1957–1963), showing alongside Pablo Picasso, Robert Motherwell, and Hans Hofmann.
Subject of the major national touring retrospective Ronald: 25 Years (1975), organized by The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.
Selected Permanent Collections
Museum of Modern Art / MoMA (New York, NY)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY)
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY)
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Art Gallery of Ontario / AGO (Toronto, ON)
Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, NY)
Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, NY)
Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh, PA)
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, ON)
William Ronald
(Canadian, 1926–1998)
Untitled, 1959
Watercolour on paper
Dimensions: 19 1/2 × 25 3/4 in. (49.5 × 65.4 cm)
Description
In Untitled (1959), William Ronald presents a central-image composition executed in watercolour on paper. A dense, opaque black mass dominates the field, anchored against a soft salmon-wash ground with an adjacent wash of grey tonal modeling. Executed at the height of Ronald's New York period while under contract with Kootz Gallery, the work demonstrates his signature "central image" structure, isolating a singular, potent abstract form within an open pictorial field.
Ronald’s practice was instrumental in introducing Abstract Expressionism to mainstream Canadian art. By applying the scale, gestural weight, and immediacy of the New York School to works on paper, Untitled explores tension between physical opacity, fluid wash, and negative space.
Major Accolades & Recognition
Founder and instigator of Painters Eleven (1953), the pioneering collective that introduced Abstract Expressionism to English Canada.
Recipient of the National Award in the International Guggenheim Competition (1956).
Represented in New York by the landmark Kootz Gallery (1957–1963), showing alongside Pablo Picasso, Robert Motherwell, and Hans Hofmann.
Subject of the major national touring retrospective Ronald: 25 Years (1975), organized by The Robert McLaughlin Gallery.
Selected Permanent Collections
Museum of Modern Art / MoMA (New York, NY)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY)
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY)
National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
Art Gallery of Ontario / AGO (Toronto, ON)
Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn, NY)
Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, NY)
Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh, PA)
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, ON)
