Ephraim Kelloways' Place 52 of 75 | 1988 | Etching 52 of 75

About the Artwork

Ephraim Kelloway's Place (1989) is an etching and aquatint with hand-colouring by David Blackwood (1941–2022), depicting the legendary painted door that became an icon of imagination and perseverance in Wesleyville. The composition presents multiple perspectives simultaneously: the upper portion shows the weathered grey house and outbuildings rising against a luminous sky, while the lower section focuses on the door itself with Ephraim's dark figure standing before it—creating a portrait not just of the door but of the entire "place" that gave the work its name. The door glows with hand-coloured coral-red and pink tones, embellished with hardware details—hinges, a horseshoe, and decorative elements. A picket fence encloses the foreground garden, and a woman's figure appears in the upper left near an outbuilding.

In his 1990 artist statement, Blackwood recalled: "The brothers Alpheus, Jacob, and Ephraim Kelloway were the next-door neighbours of my childhood. In our community of brightly painted houses the Kelloway 'place' was known for its greyness... However, for several summers in the mid-fifties, Ephraim Kelloway painted his barn door — some say fifty times." The door went through "a succession of remarkable changes," painted black, yellow, brown, red, blue, stovepipe silver, and "bedroom" pink. "When he had exhausted the effects of individual colours he began to... [embellish] the surface further with a variety of hinges, a horseshoe, a half-model of a boat and cutouts of brightly coloured and lettered tin. The final result was a richly painted and decorated icon."¹

This work captures the door at its most vibrant—before the elements took over. Blackwood continued: "When the painting of the door stopped, the elements took over and continued to rework the surface."¹ The print immortalizes not just the door but the spirit that transformed it: one man's decades-long act of creation and decoration, turning an ordinary barn door into a beacon of colour in a grey landscape. The figure before the door becomes everyman—witness, creator, guardian of memory.

Dimensions and Details

• Title: Ephraim Kelloway's Place
• Artist: David Blackwood (1941–2022)
• Year: 1989
• Size: 11" × 14" (27.9 × 35.6 cm)
• Medium: Etching and aquatint with hand-colouring on paper
• Edition: 52/75
• Condition: Pristine. These specific impressions have been stored flat in archival conditions since 1989, never displayed or exposed to ambient light. The hand-coloured reds and pinks retain full saturation with no fading whatsoever. 

Related Works

This print is part of a four-work cycle documenting Ephraim Kelloway's door: Ephraim Kelloway's Door (1981 etching), Ephraim Kelloway's Place (1989 etching—this work), Passing Shadow (1990 etching), and a series of oil paintings exhibited at Gallery One, Toronto in October 1990. Together they document the door's transformation across time and the artist's enduring fascination with this neighbourhood monument to creativity.

Acquisition Enquiries

Ephraim Kelloway's Place is offered exclusively through West End Gallery. Serious acquisition enquiries are welcome. We invite you to contact us directly to arrange a private viewing. Layaway options are available upon request. Shipping is quoted based on location; local delivery within Edmonton and surrounding communities is complimentary.