PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Montreal
Canadian Post-War & Contemporary Art, Heffel Fine Art Auction House, May 17, 2012, lot 65
Dr. Luigi Rossi, Kelowna and Grande Prairie
Estate of Dr. Luigi Rossi

LITERATURE
The Rossi Collection: A Circle of Friends, Kelowna Art Gallery, 2018, reproduced page 13 and listed page 45

EXHIBITED
Kelowna Art Gallery, The Rossi Collection: A Circle of Friends, November 10, 2018 – January 20, 2019

Born in 1919 on Manitoulin Island, Daphne Odjig grew up in an environment that encouraged her artistic talents from an early age. Under the guidance of her grandfather, Jonas Odjig—a gravestone carver and a painter—she honed her skills through close observation and practice. His mentorship introduced her to Anishinaabe petroglyphs and traditional storytelling, formative influences that would shape her artistic trajectory. Later, upon moving to Toronto, she frequently visited the Art Gallery of Ontario, immersing herself in Canadian contemporary art and European modernism, notably Cubism and Abstract Expressionism. These experiences informed the development of her singular style, which deftly merged Indigenous traditions with modernist influences.

Odjig’s groundbreaking role in Canadian Indigenous art is intricately tied to her self-taught background and her rich cultural heritage. Observers often view her as an “authentic informant” because of her direct link to oral traditions passed down by her grandfather and her artistic development free from Western academic constraints. This duality—untrained in a formal sense yet deeply rooted in Anishinaabe storytelling—secured her place at the forefront of contemporary Indigenous art. Nevertheless, while Odjig embraced her Indigenous identity, she refused to be defined by it alone. She believed in the universality of artistic expression and sought recognition not merely as an “Indian artist” but as a full-fledged artist whose work transcended single cultural labels, addressing human emotion, transformation and resilience in ways that resonate across boundaries.

Her artistic journey can be traced through three distinct phases, culminating in Odjig’s third and most introspective period, during which she produced Awakening of Spring. After 1976, she shifted away from the Woodland School influences central to her earlier works, favouring a more fluid, expressive style focused on emotion and movement. This phase of her career was more personal and autobiographical, delving into themes of kinship, transformation and resilience with heightened energy. By then, her signature elements included bold primary colours and the dynamic interplay of shapes and lines, and her favoured medium was acrylic paint. Thanks to acrylic’s fast-drying properties, she could sustain her creative momentum, conveying her vision onto canvas with clarity and immediacy.

Odjig’s technical mastery is resplendent in Awakening of Spring, where bold, curvilinear lines and vibrant contrasting hues foster a dynamic interplay of form and space. The composition throbs with energy: swirling blues and greens enfold figures beneath a lush canopy of trees. Above them, the rising sun ignites the sky with bursts of warm reds and pinks, symbolizing the transition from cold to warmth, from stillness to renewal. The central figures embody this shift, as they appear to step from one season into the next. Throughout the canvas, the painting’s fluidity and rhythm distill the essence of spring: a rebirth full of possibility, where nature and humanity are seamlessly interconnected, guided by the same earthbound pulse.

Over the course of her career, Odjig’s art garnered widespread acclaim through high-profile commissions and exhibitions, securing her prominent position in the art world. Yet her primary influence may have been advocating for Indigenous artists across Canada. As a founding member of the Professional Native Indian Artists Inc.—the “Indian Group of Seven”—she actively challenged expectations that Indigenous artists remain confined to traditional visual forms. In 1986, her achievements were formally recognized when she was appointed to the Order of Canada, an honour that celebrated her remarkable contributions to both Canadian art and Indigenous representation.

In reflecting on Odjig’s life and legacy, it is clear that she balanced both a devotion to Anishinaabe storytelling and a determination to embrace modernism’s global language. Her commitment to championing Indigenous artists continues to resonate, inspiring new generations to push boundaries in their own work. Ultimately, Odjig’s story reminds us that art can simultaneously honour cultural roots and transcend them, forging new creative pathways that enrich Canada’s artistic tapestry and broaden our collective understanding of Indigenous expression.

For the biography on Dr. Luigi Rossi in PDF format, please click here.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars