About the Work
Doig’s use of unusual colors and abstract depiction of figures on what appears to be a canoe or shallow bottom boat gives this image an other-worldly quality. A cross is emblazoned on the mast and a flag-bearer leans forward as if charging ahead, while the central figure defiantly holds what might be a sword. In the background, an empty orange landscape gives way to mountain green.
The canoe is a recurrent theme in Doig’s œuvre, reflecting the artist’s Canadian upbringing. The 1991 painting White Canoe set the world record for a European contemporary artist when it sold at Sotheby’s for nearly $10 million.
About the Artist
Peter Doig’s paintings capture moments of the everyday with a dream-like tranquility altered through the use of staining, dripping, stippling, and a vibrant range of electric, almost hallucinatory, colors. His landscapes, for which he is best known, are abstracted from a range of sources including memories and found photographs.
The artist began showing in pubs and bars in England in the early 1980s, catching the eye of mega-collector Charles Saatchi. In 1984, an exhibition of paintings held at Victoria Miro Gallery was short-listed for the prestigious Turner Prize. His first American exhibition was mounted by curator Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson in 2000 at the Berkeley Art Museum. A major retrospective of Doig’s work was presented by Tate Britain in 2008.
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