Ronald York Wilson (1907-1981)

“Mexican Pueblo”

Oil on Panel

12” x 16” Panel size

Framed

Signed lower Left

Provenance: Private Collection

About

York Wilson
(1907 - 1984) RCA, OSA

York Wilson studied commercial art at Central Technical School and first worked at Brigden's engraving house in Toronto (1926), where he was influenced by Charles Comfort and Will Ogilvie. Wilson was first recognized for paintings of the burlesque, such as those he exhibited with the Canadian Group of Painters at the World's Fair in New York (1939), and other social commentary pictures. He became a full-time painter in 1950. Trips to Mexico in 1950 and 1953 exposed him to the influence of Rico Lebrun and stimulated an interest in mural painting.

Wilson was best known for his commissioned murals, including those for McGill University's library (Montréal, 1954) and the Imperial Oil Building (Toronto, 1957). In the later 1950s, his interest in "picture construction" led him to abstract painting and then, in the 1960s, into geometric art.

Reference:
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/ronald-york-wilson