This is a very rare example of one of the most sought after indigenous artist and a member of the Indigenous Group of Seven Carl Ray. This beautiful example of Rays work is was done before he started employing what was referred to as the X-ray technique. The site line of this beautiful piece of art is 29.5 inches by 23.5 inches while outside the complimentary frame it measures 33.5 inches by 27.5 inches. Take the time to research this famous native artist and see what his works have brought at auction. Carl Ray's art has brought in excess of $7000.00 at auction. 

Below is a biography of Carl Ray please take the time to read it. Carl Ray Article by Mary E. Southcott Updated by Julia Skelly Published Online January 30, 2008 Last Edited October 4, 2018 Carl Ray, Cree artist, illustrator, editor and art teacher (born January 1943 in Sandy Lake, ON; died 26 September 1978 in Sioux Lookout, ON). Ray was known for his innovative paintings in the Woodlands style and was a founding member of the Indian Group of Seven. Ray’s work has influenced Indigenous art in Canada and can be found in the collections of various galleries and museums across the country. Thunderbird Thunderbird Thunderbird is a powerful supernatural being found in Indigenous legends throughout North America. (courtesy Confederation College, Thunder Bay) Early Life Carl Ray was born on Sandy Lake First Nation in northern Ontario in 1943. After leaving a residential school in McIntosh at age 15 when his father died, Ray worked as a trapper, logger and gold miner to make his living. He began to paint during this time; he has been described as a self-taught painter. Ray left Sandy Lake to work at the Red Lake mines. He contracted tuberculosis, eventually recovering in the Fort William sanatorium, and he apparently used his painting as a form of occupational therapy. Ray returned to Sandy Lake in 1966. Artistic Style In his early career, Carl Ray became friend and apprentice to Ojibwe artist Norval Morrisseau, often credited as the creator of the Woodlands School of art. Not to be confused with a physical school, Woodlands is a style of art that depicts traditional Indigenous legends as well as the relationships between people, animals and the supernatural. It is for these reasons that Woodlands art is also sometimes called Legend Painting or Medicine Painting. Though Woodlands artists do not paint in a uniform style, they are known for creating pieces characterized by bright colours, black form lines and a unique X-ray style of painting, often showing the organs and internal energy lines of an animal or mythical figure. Ray became known as a Woodlands artist because of his painting style. He was one of the first Cree painters in Canada to reject traditional bans against depicting sacred Indigenous legends. He frequently painted dynamic relations between humans, animals and legendary creatures, and he usually limited his palette to two or three colours, such as brown, black and blue, often using both ink and watercolours. Ray also incorporated the X-ray style and painted his interpretations of stories that he had learned from his grandfather, a revered Ojibwe medicine man (see Shaman) from Sandy Lake. DID YOU KNOW? Artists of the Woodlands School came to be known by that name because they largely came from northern Ontario communities. In addition to Norval Morrisseau and Carl Ray, Woodlands artists include Daphne Odjig (1919–2016), Joshim Kakegamic (1952–1993), Blake Debassige (b. 1956) and Jackson Beardy (1944–1984). Indian Group of Seven In 1972, three Woodlands school artists — Jackson Beardy, Alex Janvier and Daphne Odjig — were part of a groundbreaking exhibition entitled Treaty Numbers 23, 287, 1171 that was on display in Winnipeg. The numbers in the exhibition’s title referred to the artists’ respective band numbers, assigned after certain treaties had been signed between their First Nations and the Canadian government. In 1973, following the success of the exhibition, the artists, along with Carl Ray, Norval Morrisseau, Eddy Cobiness and Joe Sanchez, formed the Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation (PNIAI). The artists had a number of group shows, including a series in 1975 at the Dominion Gallery in Montreal, the Wallack Galleries in Ottawa and the Art Emporium in Vancouver, before focusing on their solo careers. Georgian Bay, ON Location is approximate