Canadian Museum of History saddened by the death of the “grandmother” of Canadian Indigenous art

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For immediate release

Gatineau, Quebec, October 3, 2016 — The Canadian Museum of History is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of Canada’s most celebrated painters and printmakers, Daphne Odjig, C.M., O.B.C., who passed away on October 1 at the age of 97 years.

Ms. Odjig was born in 1919 at Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, to a Potawatomi and Odawa father and a British mother. She has been a prominent figure on the Canadian art scene since the 1960s, when she helped spark an Aboriginal artistic revival with her unique, expressive style that fused Abstraction with Indigenous oral traditions.

“Daphne Odjig was instrumental in the evolution of contemporary Aboriginal art and she has contributed greatly to Canada’s cultural history,” said Mark O’Neill, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of History. “During her long and successful career, she has inspired generations of young Indigenous artists and earned worldwide acclaim. She was and she will remain one of our nation’s most remarkable artists and cultural leaders.”

She is perhaps best known as a founding member of Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. (PNIAI), an arts alliance whose other members include Alex Janvier and the late Norval Morrisseau. As a group, PNIAI forever transformed the world of contemporary Indigenous art by breaking down barriers and helping to bring national and international recognition to the artists and their works.

The Museum of History has more than 70 works by Daphne Odjig in its collections, including the masterpiece The Indian in Transition (1978). This painting takes the viewer on a historical odyssey from a time before the arrival of Europeans, through the devastation and destruction of Aboriginal cultures, to an expression of rejuvenation and hope for the future. The Indian in Transition is one of Ms. Odjig’s most important artworks and is currently on display outside the Museum’s First Peoples Hall.

In 2008, the Museum presented a major retrospective of her works. The exhibition, Daphne Odjig: Four Decades of Prints, organized by the Kamloops Art Gallery, featured 95 of Ms. Odjig’s prints and reflected the evolution of her art over 40 years.

Ms. Odjig’s enormous talent and cultural impact have earned her the Order of Canada, the Order of British Columbia, a National Aboriginal Achievement Award, many honorary doctorates, induction into the Royal Canadian Academy of Artists, as well as a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. Her works have been exhibited in museums in Canada and abroad.

The Canadian Museum of History offers its most sincere condolences to Ms. Odjig’s family and friends.

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Media contacts:
Stéphanie Verner
Media Relations Officer
Telephone: 819-776-7169
Email: stephanie.verner@historymuseum.ca

Éliane Laberge
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Telephone: 819-776-7097
Email: eliane.laberge@historymuseum.ca