Painted on a rather large scale, The Discussion is an operatic work that was executed shortly before the artist’s untimely death in 1987, at the age of 44. Here, a civil discourse between seven figures takes place in an abstract world of curvilinear elegance where lines almost disappear at times, as they twist and turn into a gentle rhythm.

In his composition, Youngfox anchors the scene in a network of undulating ripples, which form the structural support of his orators. This dazzling array of blues tones, which call to mind the swells of a seaside, contrast sharply with the fiery, autumnal orange that lingers cloud-like at the top of the canvas. Lush and muted tones of greens, reminiscent of vegetation, divide the two realms. The black outlined forms of the figures are filled with contours and swells that read like a topological map. They are coloured in array of a fall foliage-like palette and seem to glow from within. In addition to being a remarkable, visceral experience, the mood achieved by The Discussion is one of hopeful light.

References: There is, regrettably, limited written information on Cecil Youngfox. A brief biography about the artist can be found in, “Helena Wilson’s Portraits of Ontario Native Artists,” Canadian Fiction Magazine, [Toronto: s.n.(?)] 1987, no. 60. He is mentioned in Bonnie Devine, The Drawings and Paintings of Daphne Odjig: A Retrospective Exhibition, (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2007), p. 38; Daphne Odjig, Rosamond M. Vanderburgh, and Beth Southcott, A Paintbrush In My Hand, (Toronto : Natural Heritage/Natural History, c1992), p. 73. In 1978, he was awarded the Aboriginal Order of Canada. In 2002, his work Winter Travel was featured on the Canadian postage stamp.