Native Canadian Artists

woodland art | westcoast art | inuit art

The Woodland style (a.k.a. Legend Painting, Medicine Painting, or Anishnabe School) immerged in the early 1960s. Following his first art exhibitions, Norval Morrisseau (1932, Fort Williams, ON – 2007, Toronto, ON) was acclaimed the leader of the Woodland School.

Benjamin Chee Chee (1944-1977)

Benjamin Chee Chee - Seal and Sun

“Early in life we begin to develop a sense of identity, a product of the “who am I” search through contacts with parents, relatives, culture, and environment. In fact, Chee Chee grew up without parents, and his connection with his relatives and his culture was either tenuous or broken. His early life experiences were of loss and detachment. He was to make this scenario an ongoing experience in his life. He seemed unable to sustain long-term relationships. Although his introductory salutation, “My name is Benjamin, and I have a problem,” seemed to be offered in jest, his problem of lost identity was deep, abiding, and painful. His problem, at the existential level, related to his identity as a human being. His inability to come to grips with this basic life task would finally destroy him.
…
Art held out to him the promise of an identity. He told an interviewer, “I wanted to be my own man. I wanted to develop a style that so much my own that anyone looking at a painting by me would say at once, even if the work was unsigned, ‘Now that was done by Benjamin Chee Chee.’

That wish was to become realized.”

(Evans, A. Chee Chee: A Study of Aboriginal Suicide. Montreal, QC, Canada: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2004, [Google Books])

Benjamin Chee Chee, as an artist, had produced artwork that is engaging and moving. The theme of lost identity or seeking to find identity (for example, Seal and Sun (1975), Seven Buffalo (1973)) is featured in many of his paintings. Some of his works are abstract paintings. Here is such a work, sold at Waddington’s “Off the Wall” art online auction on January 21, 2010; lot 177. See also a piece sold on December 9, 2015 in Toronto. Many of his early works reflect his search of his own unique style.

Recent sales:

     Sale Date   Title  Year   Size       Sold* for    Location    Provenance  
2017 May 18 Canada Goose in Flight 1976 20.75 x 29 in acrylic on paper $10,030 CAD Walker’s Inuit art and First Nations art auction, Ottawa (Lot 140) private collection, Toronto
March 30 Raccoon 1975 24 x 18 in acrylic on paper $5,000 CAD (SB) Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 133) acquired directly from the Artist by the present private collection, Ontario
March 30 Two Geese 1975 24 x 19 in acrylic on paper $5,937.50 CAD Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 134) private collection, Ontario
February 23 Elk 1975 24 x 19 in acrylic on paper $6,875 CAD Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 122) Private Collection, Ontario
February 23 Swallows in Flight 1974 23 x 17 in acrylic on paper $2,500 CAD (SB) Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 123) Nicholas Art Gallery, Ottawa
Private Collection, Ontario
February 23 Swallow and Sun 1975 24 1/8 x 18 in acrylic on paper $2,812.50 CAD Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 124) Acquired from the Artist by the present Private Collection
2016 September 29 Feather-tailed Grouse 1975 36 x 22 in acrylic on paper $7,080 CAD Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 232) Private Collection, Ottawa
August 25 Canada Goose 1975 23.5 x 17.5 in acrylic on canvas board $5,015 CAD Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 025) Inukshuk Galleries, Waterloo
Private Collection, Ontario
June 30 Caribou at Rest 1974 23 x 17 in (sight) ink and gouache on paper $9,120 CAD Waddington’s “Off the Wall” art online auction, Toronto (Lot 62) not available
March 31 Bear 1974 20 x 16 in double-sided acrylic on canvas $6,490 CAD Heffel’s auction, Vancouver (Lot 230) Private Collection, British Columbia
February 25 Canada Goose 1977 22.5 x 30 in acrylic on paper $5,015 CAD Heffel’s auction, Calgary (Lot 102) Private Collection, Edmonton
2015 December 9 Untitled abstract work 1973 24 x 30 in acrylic on canvas $2,300 CAD Consignor Canadian Fine Art auction, Toronto (Lot) Private Collection, Ottawa
November 28 Pregnant Snow Goose with Father 1974 22 x 28 in acrylic on paper $9,440 CAD Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 417) Den-Art Gallery, Ottawa; Private Collection, Ontario
November 28 Swallows in Flight 1976 18 x 26 in acrylic on paper $9,440 CAD Heffel’s auction, Vancouver (Lot 418) The Downstairs Gallery, Vancouver, 1979; Private Collection, Vancouver
November 28 Ram’s Head 1975 24.5 x 36 3/8 in acrylic on paper $7,080 CAD SB Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 419) Nicholas Art Gallery, Ottawa; Private Collection, Ontario
May 30 Goose 1975 18 x 24 in acrylic on paper $10,620 CAD Heffel’s auction, Vancouver (Lot 415) Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver; Private Collection, White Rock
May 30 Goose with Sun 1975 18 x 24 in acrylic on paper $3,835 CAD Heffel’s auction, Vancouver (Lot 416) Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver; Private Collection, White Rock
May 2 Dying Buffalo 1974 17.75 x 23.75 in ink and acrylic on paper $1,652 CAD Walker’s Inuit art and First Nations art auction, Ottawa (Lot 113) purchased from the artist; by descent to a private collection, Toronto
May 2 Spirit Fish 1973 15.75 x 20 in ink on paper $826 CAD Walker’s Inuit art and First Nations art auction, Ottawa (Lot 114) purchased from the artist; by descent to a private collection, Toronto
May 2 Sun and Four Buffalo 1973 15.75 x 20 in ink and acrylic on paper $2,006 CAD Walker’s Inuit art and First Nations art auction, Ottawa (Lot 115) purchased from the artist; by descent to a private collection, Toronto
May 2 Seven Buffalo 1973 15 x 20.75 in ink and acrylic on paper $3,835 CAD Walker’s Inuit art and First Nations art auction, Ottawa (Lot 116) purchased from the artist; by descent to a private collection, Toronto
February 26 Untitled (Seal and Sun) 1975 17 x 22.75 in tempera on paper $12,980 CAD** Heffel’s auction, Toronto (Lot 222) Private Collection, Ottawa, Ontario
2014 November 29 Untitled 1976 22 x 29.5 in acrylic on paper $11,800 CAD Heffel’s auction (Lot 343)
November 15 Spirit Buffalo 1974 16 x 20 in oil on canvas $7,080 CAD Walker’s Inuit art and First Nations art auction, Ottawa (Lot 173)
March 27 Goose 1976 22 x 30 in acrylic on paper $11,700 CAD Heffel’s auction (Lot 318)
*) Price includes buyer’s premium. **) As far as I know, this is the highest selling price for Chee Chee’s artwork in more than a decade.

Large limited-edition (numbered) prints (14 x 17 in., 15 x 19 in. or larger) of Chee Chee artwork and signed by him, such as “Black Bear” (1974, edition of 150), “Mountain Sheep” (1974, edition of 150), “Running Horses” (1974, edition of 150), “Sea Otter” (1974, edition of 150), “Swallows” (1974, edition of 150), can be purchased at Canadian art auctions for $300-1500. Large limited-edition prints produced after the artist’s death in 1977 can be purchased at Canadian art auctions for $100-200. The retail prices for these prints are higher. Smaller prints or prints which are not signed by the artist are not as collectable.

Daphne Odjig (1919-)

FCA OC PNIAI RCA WS

Recent sales:

Carl Ray (1943, Northwind Lake, ON – 1978, Sioux Lookout, ON)

Carl Ray (PNIAI WS) was active as an artist from 1969 and is considered primarily a Woodland style artist. Many of his paintings are visual animations of Cree legends. Images are dynamic and highlight struggles of different forces.

Recent sales:

Roy Thomas (1949-2004)

Roy Thomas was one of the most influential aboriginal artists in Canada and is considered primarily a Woodland style artist. He was active as an artist since the late 1960s.

His paintings are sold at Canadian art auctions typically in the $1,500 ~ $4,000 range.

Recent sales:

One of the higher priced sales is:

His signed screenprints on paper are also popular (Thunderbird Mother (1975, edition of 98), Moose and Wolves (1977, edition of 100), Northwind Bird (1979, edition of 100), Muskrat (1980, edition of 100), Migration (1980, edition of 100), Turtle Island (1989, edition of 100), Positive Inspiration (1991, edition of 100), Summer Feast (1991, edition of 100), Time & Elements (1993, edition of 125); sold in the $200-$400 range at Canadian art auctions). A 25 x 19 in. screenprint Thunderbird Mother (35/98) was sold at Waddington’s “Off the Wall” auction (January 29, 2015) for $432 (lot 201).

Goyce Kakegamic (1948-)

Recent sales:

hammer price – price without buyer’s premium added.

Notations:
FCA – Federation of Canadian Artists (1941-)
PNIAI – Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation (1973-1975)
RCA – Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1880-)

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NATIVE CANADIAN ART | ANTIQUE PRINTS FOR SALE | ANTIQUE MAPS FOR SALE

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Serge Gorelsky, Ph.D.
Toronto / Missisauga / Oakville / Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

E-mail: [email protected]

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