Rich in atmosphere and poetic feeling, Youngfox’s A Naming Ceremony, celebrates the tradition of some Anishinaabe communities wherein a young child receives a name that is often reflective of his or her unique qualities and personality traits. In this work, there is an emphasis on the connection between a child and celebrating his or her place amongst the community. Here, revellers are nestled closely by four seated figures, who literally enshroud the child, causing him or her to be out of view for the spectator. The bodies of Youngfox’s figures are self contained concentric stacks of luminescent colours: a central swell of yellow surges into a flaxen gold, which billows into a series of oranges that culminate in a sulky burnt umber.  The ceremony itself is situated in a landscape of earthen tones where the crowd enjoys the privacy and freedom of nature. These muted colours are interrupted by the iridescent blue tints of a tree, a limb of which provides a protective shelter for the gathering. In the distance, twilight yields to night as a super scarlet sun sinks into the easy evening sky.

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. In October 2022, the Timber Village Museum hosted a retrospective of the artist’s work. Details can be found in a review in Jacqueline Rivet, “Timber Village Museum road trip, Elliot Lake Standard, 3 Nov 2022, accessed 16 March 2023.