Before establishing his bronze foundry in the mid-1980s, Joe Fafard worked primarily in clay, producing hand-modelled earthenware figures and farm animals while teaching at the University of Saskatchewan's Regina Campus. Influenced in part by the California Funk art movement, Fafard’s early ceramic practice prioritized intimate scale, immediate tactile modelling, and detailed painted surfaces. Cattle held a central place in this formative period, serving as quiet, character-driven studies grounded in the agricultural landscape of rural Saskatchewan.
Dating from the 1970s this miniature sculpture depicts a recumbent cow resting on a small patch of green pasture. Hand-built in clay and finished with a gloss glaze, the figure is rendered with brown and white spotted patterning across the body, curled horns, and folded legs tucked beneath its form. Rather than treating the animal as a generic agricultural motif, Fafard emphasizes individual character and quiet presence, demonstrating the direct touch and warm observation characteristic of his early Regina-period ceramics.
The Artist
Ernest Mayer, Winnipeg
By descent to the present Private Collection, Winnipeg
Joe Fafard
Nationally and internationally acclaimed artist Joe Fafard was born to French-Canadian parents in the small agricultural community of Ste. Marthe, Saskatchewan. He attended both the University of Manitoba (BFA 1966) and Pennsylvania State University (MFA 1968). He was at the University of Saskatchewan, Regina from 1968 to 1974 and visiting lecturer at the University of California at Davis in 1980 1981.
Fafard was one of Canada’s leading professional visual artists and exhibited a wide variety of work across the country and around the world. He was recognized as being at the forefront of his art and he significantly raised the profile of both Saskatchewan and Canada on the international stage. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981; received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2002; received the National Prix Montfort in 2003; and in 2005, the Lieutenant Governor’s Saskatchewan Centennial Medal for the Arts.
In the early 1970s much of his sculpture used clay as a medium. In 1985 he shifted to bronze as his chief sculptural medium, successfully establishing a foundry in Pense. His insight and humour characterized his portraits of neighbours, farm animals, and famous artists that he came to respect as he learned his craft.
Major Fall Fine Art Auction
November 12 - December 3, 2026
661 Wall St, Winnipeg MB
(204) 255-5690
mayberryfineart.com
[email protected]
Contact us to make an appointment to preview this item or to sell similar works.
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Bidding Range
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Increment
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|---|---|
| $0.00 - $50.00 | $1.00 |
| $50.00 - $100.00 | $5.00 |
| $100.00 - $500.00 | $10.00 |
| $500.00 - $1,000.00 | $25.00 |
| $1,000.00 - $2,500.00 | $50.00 |
| $2,500.00 - $10,000.00 | $100.00 |
| $10,000.00 - $20,000.00 | $200.00 |
| $20,000.00 - $50,000.00 | $500.00 |
| $50,000.00 - $100,000.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $100,000.00 - $300,000.00 | $5,000.00 |
| $300,000.00 - $1,000,000.00 | $10,000.00 |
| $1,000,000.00 - $2,000,000.00 | $25,000.00 |
| $2,000,000.00+ | $50,000.00 |
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