As the culminating work in the series, In the Autumn of Life presents an elevated view of Kurelek’s parents’ farm in Vinemount, Ontario. The agrarian setting plays backdrop to a family reunion, and the artist’s extended family are shown gathered for a group photograph. Kurelek appears in the family grouping, fifth from the right. 

Closer study of the painting reveals several disquieting elements that undermine the painting’s function as a sincere celebration of social mobility. A Christ figure appears in the bottom-left foreground, crucified on a dead tree and surrounded by ravenous dogs that clamour over the spilled blood. More foreboding still is the giant mushroom cloud that Kurelek uses as the iconic symbol of nuclear war and a reminder that technological advancement does not necessarily make for peace and harmony.

This Spotlight is excerpted from William Kurelek: Life & Work by Andrew Kear.