Dear Editor
I grew up in North Battleford in the 1960s ‘70s in a single parent family. My mom kept us just above the poverty line, kept us housed, kept us fed and raised us to believe the world could be ours.
Alcoholism and mental health issues were part of the complex fabric of our lives. We grew up during the time that Allen Sapp was making his mark on the art world with his recollections of his life as a young boy on the reserve in the early part of the 20th century. I remember liking Allen Sapp’s art as a kid but, more so, I remember as a teenager seeing a particularly striking piece in the home of an affluent friend. I was struck by its beauty but, underneath, I know I yearned for the lifestyle that could “afford” an Allen Sapp painting.
I promised myself one day I would own an Allen Sapp and in my heart I knew it was because it would be a sign of my success and my leaving my life as a poor kid from North Battleford behind.
I have lived in Australia now for 30 years. I got an education, I found a man to love, I had a family and I am a success by all accounts. And, yes, I own three Allen Sapp paintings from his early years. But through my life’s journey as a woman, I gave up many aspirations from those dreams of the 70s child I was in North Battleford. I sacrificed a little of myself here for my husband and there for my kids.
Now I am 53, my kids are grown and, like all of us at this age, I finally have time to reflect. Now I look at my Allen Sapp paintings in a different light. They are no longer a representation of my success and my escape from poverty. Now, like Allen’s memories of his childhood, they are a beautiful and, yes, a bit bittersweet and wistful reminder of unfulfilled dreams and of a simpler time when all was in front of me and anything was possible.
I will cherish my Allen Sapp paintings as I cherish my life as a child in North Battleford in simpler times and they will, I hope, be a focal point for our shared family history in the years to come.
Thank you, Allen. You have enriched my life as you have the lives of the many you touched with your art.
Sandra Walter
Queensland, Australia
