Celebrate the life and work of First Nations artist Daphne Odjig
“I see my paintings as a celebration of life. My sub-conscious mind may well dictate some content and I’m content to leave it at that. I am uncomfortable with words – my paintings are perhaps my most honest and legitimate statement.” – Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig, Odjig Family; Father, Mother, Grandfather, Stanley, Daphne, Donald, Winnie, Xmas, Dec 25th, (1986) Acrylic on canvas, 121.9 × 101.6 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Purchase with assistance from Greg Latremoille and the Estate of Mary Ash, 2016. © Estate of Daphne Odjig 2017.
Commonly known as the “grandmother of First Nations art”, Daphne Odjig (1919-2016) was one of Canada’s most celebrated Indigenous painters and printmakers. Odjig passed away in October, but on Jan. 18, the AGO will remember her by welcoming her colleagues, friends and family for a special evening of performances, speeches and a screening of the 2008 documentary The Life and Work of Daphne Odjig. The event will be hosted in Baillie Court from 7 to 10 p.m., and is free for the public.
Of Odawa, Potawatomi and English heritage, Odjig was born Sept. 11, 1919 on Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve, Manitoulin Island, Ontario where Lake Huron and Georgian Bay meet. She first learned about artmaking from her grandfather, Jonas Odjig, a tombstone carver who taught her to draw and paint. Her work is now in private and public collections across Canada. For her achievements, Odjig received the Order of Canada in 1986, the Governor General’s Award in Visual Arts in 2007 and seven honorary degrees.
“I consider Daphne to be the grandmother of contemporary Indigenous art especially for us Anishinaabe,” said Wanda Nanibush, the AGO’s Assistant Curator, Canadian and Indigenous Art. “She was instrumental in helping other artists blossom too, most famously through Professional Native Artists Inc. She kicked in doors for us all. She and Alex Janvier walked out of the museum object case into the contemporary art galleries forever changing the way Indigenous art was categorized. She used to sit at the AGO and study painting techniques from the artists on the walls…she is now on our walls. Her work Odjig Family; Father, Mother, Grandfather, Stanley, Daphne, Donald, Winnie, Xmas, Dec 25th, from 1986, is a painting that we just acquired for our collection and is on display in the Canadian galleries. We want to honour her immense talent and generous soul. It is a great loss but we can celebrate her long, happy, inspired life.”
For more information about the AGO’s collection of Canadian art, click here. AGO Members see it all for free. Click here for more information.
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