Canada Post pays tribute to master artist

Aboriginal artist Daphne Odjig of Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island, Ont. now has the honor of having her paintings published as a series of postage stamps.

Canada Post announced Feb. 21 the unveiling of three stamps, each showing a different painting created by the artist.

The three paintings displayed on the stamps are entitled Spiritual Renewal (1984), Pow-wow Dancer (1978), and Pow-wow (1969).

“Canada Post is proud to add the work of this respected Canadian artist to our Art Canada series,” said Jim Philips, director of Stamp Services at Canada Post.
“Daphne Odjig’s colorful palette evokes strength and power.”

Odjig was born in 1919 and during her lifetime she has accomplished many things. Accolades include the Order of Canada, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award, the Governor General’s Laureate for Visual and Media Arts (2007), the Expression Award from the National Film Board in recognition of work that champions Canadian cultural diversity, and she is the first and only First Nations woman to show her work at the National Gallery of Canada, as of November 2009. She has also received the Order of British Columbia, the province that is also home to the art gallery, Odjig Arts, which is located in Kelowna.