Saskatchewan art gallery hopes to find artist of pristine Tommy Douglas mural

The Weyburn Art Gallery is trying to track down the creator of a Tommy Douglas mural in its possession. (AngelaStewart/CTVNews)

For the last five years, the Weyburn Art Gallery have been trying to find any information relating to the artist behind a massive mural they found of Tommy Douglas.

The piece is about 12 feet long and eight feet across. All the brush strokes are very intricate and detailed. The piece also still remains in pristine condition.

"It's a difficult piece to display as it is so large it requires a large amount of wall space,” said Regan Lanning, the curator at the Weyburn Art Gallery.

Staff with the gallery in the southeastern Saskatchewan city speculate it was made to coincide with the moving of Douglas’ church in 1985.

“His church was located in the main kind of downtown area of Weyburn. We were moving it up to the hill and repurposing it into a performing arts centre,” Lanning said.

The only artist identification attached to it, is the single name "Robyn."

"We don't know if that's a first name. We don't know if it's a last name. We don't know if a woman created it if that's still her last name. It's a real mystery,” Lanning explained.

"The mural makes sense. Tommy was a big name in Weyburn. In fact, Tommy is synonymous with Weyburn. Or at least he was up until the last few decades. I think people have forgotten about that association,” said Bill Waiser, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan.

Douglas was elected Premier of Saskatchewan in 1944 and went on to win five straight majority governments. He would propel a movement of free universal healthcare which was eventually adopted nationally.

A mural of this size with no identification is unheard of, according to the gallery.

"There are murals on buildings in Saskatchewan, but something dedicated to Tommy of that size is unusual and a rare find. It's great that it was located,” explained Waiser.

No one has come forward to claim they are the artist. Anyone with information is asked to contact the gallery directly.

The piece will be on display until the summer when it will then be rolled up and stored in their permanent collection room.