It has been an honour and pleasure to write this book on the life and art of Kent Monkman. My deepest gratitude is expressed to Sara Angel for providing this opportunity and huge thank you to Jocelyn Anderson for her guidance and editorial leadership. I am also grateful to Rachel Giese for her editorial eye. To the entire team at ACI, thank you for making this book the accomplishment that it is. On a final note, my warmest gratitude goes to Kent Monkman for his openness and generosity of time. I would also like to express appreciation to Kent’s studio team who were outstanding in their assistance.
From the ACI
The Art Canada Institute gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the Title Sponsor of this book, who has chosen to remain Anonymous.
We thank the Founding Sponsor of the Art Canada Institute: BMO Financial Group.
The ACI also thanks the other Title Sponsors of the 2021–2022 Canadian Online Art Book Project: Marilyn and Charles Baillie; Alexandra Bennett in memory of Jalynn Bennett; Kiki and Ian Delaney; Blake C. Goldring, CM, MSM, CD.; Lawson Hunter; the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain; The Stonecroft Foundation for the Arts; and Trinity Development Foundation.
We thank the 2021–2022 Season Sponsors of the Art Canada Institute: the Connor, Clark & Lunn Foundation; The Scott Griffin Foundation; The McLean Foundation; and The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation.
We are grateful to the Art Canada Institute Leaders: Anonymous; Anonymous; Alexandra Baillie; John and Katia Bianchini; Christopher Bredt and Jamie Cameron; Linda and Steven Diener; Roger and Kevin Garland; Joan and Martin Goldfarb; Tim and Darka Griffin; Lawson Hunter; Richard and Donna Ivey; The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation; Alan and Patricia Koval Foundation; McCarthy Tétrault LLP; Bill Morneau and Nancy McCain Foundation at Toronto Foundation; Partners in Art; Sandra and Jim Pitblado; Tim and Frances Price; Gerald Sheff and Shanitha Kachan Charitable Foundation; The Donald R. Sobey Foundation; The Stonecroft Foundation for the Arts; TD Bank Group; Fred Waks; Bruce V. Walter and Erica Walter; Eberhard and Jane Zeidler; and Sara and Michael Angel.
Appreciation goes as well to our Patrons: Anonymous; Diana Billes; Eric and Jodi Block; Malcolm Burrows and Barbara Dick; Debra and Barry Campbell; Anne-Marie Canning; Cowley Abbott; Lilly Fenig; Jane and Michael Freund; Leslie S. Gales and Keith Ray; The Lindy Green Family Charitable Foundation; Reesa Greenberg; Jane Huh; Elaine Kierans and Shawn McReynolds; Trina McQueen; Gilles and Julia Ouellette; Judith and Wilson Rodger; Fred and Beverly Schaeffer; Michael Simmonds and Steven M. Wilson; Andrew Stewart and Kathy Mills; Carol Weinbaum; and Robin and David Young.
Gratitude goes as well to our Founding Patrons, who supported the Art Canada Institute in its first year: Jalynn Bennett, The Butterfield Family Foundation, David and Vivian Campbell, Albert E. Cummings, The Fleck Family, Roger and Kevin Garland, Glorious and Free Foundation, Gluskin Sheff + Associates, The Scott Griffin Foundation, Gershon Iskowitz Foundation, The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation, Michelle Koerner and Kevin Doyle, Phil Lind and Ellen Roland, Sarah and Tom Milroy, Partners in Art, Sandra L. Simpson, Stephen Smart, Nalini and Tim Stewart, and Robin and David Young.
The ACI particularly wishes to thank Kent Monkman and the team at Kent Monkman Studio, especially Adrien Hall, Sadie MacDonald, and Brad Tinmouth.
The ACI also thanks the following for their support and assistance: AHHA Represents (Andrea Hutchins); AKG Images (Jennifer Carding); Albright-Knox Art Gallery; the American Museum of Natural History (Matthew Heenan); Amon Carter Museum of American Art (Selena Capraro); Art Gallery of Hamilton (Christine Braun); Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Shannon Parker); Art Gallery of Ontario (Alexandra Cousins); Art Institute of Chicago; Art Museum at the University of Toronto (Barbara Fischer, Melody Lu); Bridgeman Images; Canadian Museum of History (Anneh Fletcher, Shannon Mooney); Claridge Collection (David Butler); Collection of the National Bank of Canada (Jo-Ann Kane); Denver Art Museum (Meghan Shaw); Estate of James Luna; Estate of Lawren Harris (Stew Sheppard); Fondation Antoine de Galbert (Elise Dubuis); Fyfe Shader (Christina Bucci); Gardiner Museum (Christina MacDonald); Garth Greenan Gallery (Julian Corbett, Rachel Garbade); Gilcrease Museum (Garrett W. Gibson); Glenbow Museum (Daryl Betenia); Heffel Fine Art Auction House (Melina Rymberg); House of Commons (Johanna K. Mizgala, Rheian Shannon); Indigenous Art Centre (Danielle Shrestha, Kevin Sakolinsky); The Kalaman Group (Megan Kalaman); Layton Art Collection, Inc.; Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery at Concordia University (Julia Eilers Smith, Yasmine Tremblay); Library and Archives Canada; Library of Congress; Manitoba Museum (Nancy Anderson); McCord Museum (Anne-Frédérique Beaulieu); The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Milwaukee Art Museum (Rebekah Morin); Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Linda-Anne D’Anjou, Marie-Claude Saia); Museum London (Janette Cousins Ewan, Krista Hamlin); National Film Board of Canada (Barry Ahmad, Alexandra Hubert, Michael Shu); National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; National Gallery of Canada (Raven Amiro); Northwestern University Library (Erin Gilchrist); Philadelphia Museum of Art (Jonathan Hoppe); Reuters (Aaron Dorvinen); Royal Collection Trust (Karen Lawson); Royal Ontario Museum (Laura Fox); Smithsonian American Art Museum; Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (Katherine Fogden, Nathan Sowry); Sobey Art Foundation (Bernard Doucet); Stephen Bulger Gallery; Tia Collection (Laura Finlay Smith); Waddington’s Auctioneers and Appraisers (Kendra Popelas); Winnipeg Art Gallery (Nicole Fletcher, Olenka Skrypnyk); Winnipeg Free Press (Nadya Pankiw); and Daniel L. Bain, Bruce Bailey, Martin Demers, Paul Desmarais III, MaryLou Driedger, Samuel Engelking, Aaron Glass, Jany and David Godard, Toni Hafkenscheid, Raja Hanna and Marylène Debay, Michel Hardy-Vallée, Joseph Hartman, Shaney Komulainen, John Latour and Pierre-François Ouellette, Shelley Niro, Irfhan Rawji, Marie-Claude Rochon and Paolo Notarnicola, Bryan Scott, Rob and Monique Sobey, Paula Wilson, and Aaron Wynia.
The ACI recognizes the additional private collectors who have given permission for their works to be published in this edition.
IMAGE SOURCES
Every effort has been made to secure permissions for all copyrighted material. The Art Canada Institute will gladly correct any errors or omissions.
Credit for Cover Image
Kent Monkman, The Daddies, 2016. (See below for details.)
Credits for Banner Images
Biography: Kent Monkman in his studio, 2018. Photo credit: Samuel Engelking.
Key Works: Kent Monkman, Miss America, 2012. (See below for details.)
Significance & Critical Issues: Kent Monkman, Sunday in the Park, 2010. (See below for details.)
Style & Technique: Kent Monkman in the studio working with some of the models for Welcoming the Newcomers, 2019. Photo credit: Aaron Wynia.
Sources & Resources: Printouts of artworks from The Metropolitan Museum of Art collection used as reference material for mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People), 2019. Photo credit: Aaron Wynia.
Where to See: Kent Monkman, The Rise and Fall of Civilization, 2015. (See below for details.)
Credits: Kent Monkman, Woe to Those Who Remember From Whence They Came, 2008. (See below for details.)
Credits for Photographs and Works by Other Artists
Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, by Albert Bierstadt. Collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Courtesy of the SAAM.
Apollo and the Four Continents, 1750–53, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Residence of the Prince-Bishop, Würzburg.
Boone’s First View of the Kentucky Valley, 1849, by William Tylee Ranney. Collection of the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa. Courtesy of the Gilcrease Museum.
Brandon Indian Residential School, Brandon, Manitoba, c.1900–10, photographer unknown. Collection of Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa (1969-124 NPC). Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada / The Brechin Group Inc.
Capt. Huyshe, Montreal, QC, 1870, 1870, by William Notman. Collection of the McCord Museum, Montreal (I-43856.1). Courtesy of the McCord Museum.
Catlin Painting the Portrait of Mah-to-toh-pa—Mandan, 1861/1869, by George Catlin. Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Paul Mellon Collection (1965.16.184). Courtesy of the NGA.
Convergence, 1952, by Jackson Pollock. Collection of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1956 (K1956:7). Courtesy of the Albright-Knox.
Cover of Thomas King’s children’s book A Coyote Columbus Story (1992), featuring illustrations by Kent Monkman.
The Dakota Boat, c.1875, by Washington Frank Lynn. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Cohen (G-71-94). Photo credit: Winnipeg Art Gallery, Ernest Mayer.
Dance to the Berdash, 1835–37, by George Catlin. Collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Courtesy of the SAAM.
Death of the Virgin, c.1601–6, by Michelangelo Merisi (known as Caravaggio). Collection of the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Dress from the 2016 Resort collection of Valentino, featuring design by Métis artist Christi Belcourt.
Execution of Torrijos and His Companions on the Beach at Málaga, 1888, by Antonio Gisbert Pérez. Collection of the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Courtesy of Bridgeman Images.
Femmes de Caughnawaga, 1924, by Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Coté. Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Gift of F.N. Southam to the Winnipeg Gallery and School of Art Collection (L-92). Photo credit: Winnipeg Art Gallery, Ernest Mayer.
The Garden of Eden, 1828, by Thomas Cole. Collection of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth (1990.1). Photo credit: ACMAA.
Guernica, 1937, by Pablo Picasso. Collection of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid.
Indigenous rights activists march after the “Unsettle Canada Day 150 Picnic” in Toronto, July 1, 2017. Courtesy of Reuters. Photo credit: Mark Blinch/Reuters.
Installation view of “Chapter III: Wards of the State/The Indian Problem” in Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, 2017. Courtesy of the AMUT. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Installation view of “Chapter IV: Starvation” in Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2019–20. Courtesy of MaryLou Driedger. Photo credit: MaryLou Driedger.
Installation view of “Chapter VI: Incarceration” in Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, 2017. Courtesy of the AMUT. Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid.
Installation view of mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2019. Courtesy of Art Resource. Photo credit: Anna-Marie Kellen.
Interior spread of pamphlet accompanying the travelling exhibition Shame & Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, 2017.
The Jack Pine, 1916–17, by Tom Thomson. Collection of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (1519). Courtesy of the NGC. Photo credit: NGC.
June 19, 1990: NDP MLA Elijah Harper sits in the Manitoba Legislature holding an eagle feather for spiritual strength as he continues to delay the house debate on the Meech Lake Accord. Courtesy of Winnipeg Free Press. Photo credit: Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press.
Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (film still), 1993, by Alanis Obomsawin. National Film Board of Canada, Montreal. Photo credit: Shaney Komulainen.
Kent Monkman and studio assistants working on Welcoming the Newcomers, 2019. Courtesy of the Artist.
Kent Monkman as Miss Chief, Xtra Magazine, no. 547, October 13, 2005. Courtesy of Paula Wilson and AH HA Represents. Photo credit: Paula Wilson.
Kent Monkman at age four, with his parents and siblings. Courtesy of Kent Monkman.
Kent Monkman demonstrating a pose for models during the preparation of Welcoming the Newcomers, 2019. Courtesy of Aaron Wynia. Photo credit: Aaron Wynia.
Kent Monkman with the study for Welcoming the Newcomers, 2019. Courtesy of Aaron Wynia. Photo credit: Aaron Wynia.
Kent Monkman working with models during the preparation of Resurgence of the People, 2019. Courtesy of Aaron Wynia. Photo credit: Aaron Wynia.
The Last of the Buffalo, 1888, by Albert Bierstadt. Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Corcoran Collection (Gift of Mary Stewart Bierstadt [Mrs. Albert Bierstadt]) (2014.79.5). Courtesy of the NGA.
Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), 1863, by Édouard Manet. Collection of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Le roi Louis-Philippe assiste à une danse d’indiens Iowas (King Louis-Philippe Watches a Dance by Iowa Indians in a Salon of the Tuileries), 1845, by Karl Girardet. Collection of RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles). Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Le triomphe de Christianisme sur le paganisme (The Triumph of Christianity Over Paganism), 1868, by Gustave Doré. Collection of the Art Gallery of Hamilton, The Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Collection, 2002. Courtesy of the AGH.
The Little Courier, c.1496, by Albrecht Dürer. Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Fletcher Fund, 1919 (19.73.92). Courtesy of The Met.
Marcel Duchamp as Rrose Sélavy, c.1920–21, by Man Ray. Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Samuel S. White 3rd and Vera White Collection, 1957 (1957-49-1). Courtesy of the PMA.
Masked Dancers in Canoes—Qágyuhl, 1914, in Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian, Volume 10 (Boston: John Andrew & Son, 1915). Collection of Northwestern University Library, Evanston, Illinois. Courtesy of Northwestern University Library.
Northern Hotel, Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2009. Courtesy of Bryan Scott. Photo credit: Bryan Scott.
Pages from Thomas King’s children’s book A Coyote Columbus Story (1992), featuring illustrations by Kent Monkman.
The Painter’s Studio: A Real Allegory Summing Up Seven Years of My Artistic and Moral Life, 1854–55, by Gustave Courbet. Collection of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, acquired 1920. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Percival Molson, Montreal, QC, 1898, 1898, by Wm. Notman & Son. Collection of the McCord Museum, Montreal, purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd. (II-126388). Courtesy of the McCord Museum.
Plate No. 10 in Catlin’s Notes of Eight Years’ Travels and Residence in Europe with His North American Indian Collection with Anecdotes and Incidents of the Travels and Adventures of Three Different Parties of American Indians Whom He Introduced to the Courts of England, France, and Belgium. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper (bottom left) and other members of Parliament listen as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Phil Fontaine speaks in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, June 11, 2008. Photo credit: Chris Wattie/Reuters.
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884, 1884/86, by Georges Seurat. Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection (1926.224). Courtesy of the AIC.
The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid, or “The Executions,” 1814, by Francisco de Goya. Collection of the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Courtesy of Bridgeman Images.
Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851, by Emanuel Leutze. Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897 (97.34). Courtesy of The Met.
Wind River Mountains, Nebraska Territory, 1862, by Albert Bierstadt. Layton Art Collection, Inc., Purchase, at the Milwaukee Art Museum (L1897.3). Courtesy of the MAM. Photo credit: Larry Sanders.
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Cree artist Kent Monkman (b.1965) grew up in Winnipeg, profoundly aware of how colonialism had affected Indigenous communities and passionate about art.
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