In the Waters of Manitou

Of painting the present work, the artist recalled: "while visiting the Museum of Science and Industry in Jackson Park, Chicago, I saw the most splendid Indian birchbark canoe...While studying the actual artifact, I saw in my mind the same canoe out in the waters of a lake, with Indian paddlers. I did not see a real canoe in real water but rather a painting. I saw how that canoe could be expressed in pictorial form, transmuting the reality into the eloquence of expressive brush strokes and rich oil paint. I saw the grandeur of the canoe...floating silently upon the clear pure waters of a Canadian lake." (Arnold Friberg: The Passion of a Modern Master, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1985, p. 163)

The present work is accompanied by a pencil and charcoal on paper study, measuring 9 x 12 inches (22.9 x 30.5 cm.). The sketch is signed 'A. Friberg/RSA' (lower right) and inscribed 'On the Waters of Manitou' (lower center).