Paul Kane

Paul Kane (Known as "Painter of the Plains")

Frontier Artist, Author of Wanderings of an Artist, Indigenous Chronicler

Born Sep 03, 1810

Mallow (County Cork), Ireland

Passed Away Feb 20, 1871 Toronto, Canada

Lifespan 60 years old

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Notice / Correction

"I was determined to devote myself to painting a series of portraits illustrative of North American Indigenous life."

Archival Overview

Pioneering artist who traveled over 10,000 kilometers across the Canadian Northwest by canoe and horseback between 1845 and 1848, producing over five hundred sketches of Indigenous peoples and buffalo hunts.

Biographical Record

Immigrating to York (Toronto) from Ireland as a child, Kane studied painting in Europe before resolving to document North America's Indigenous nations before their traditional ways were transformed by European expansion.

Backed by Hudson's Bay Company governor Sir George Simpson, Kane journeyed from Toronto to the Pacific Ocean and back, sketching portraits of Cree, Blackfoot, Salish, and Metis chiefs, buffalo hunts, and ceremonies. His 1859 illustrated memoir, Wanderings of an Artist, became an international ethnographic classic.

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

St. James Cemetery
Toronto, Canada

                         GPS: 43.6731, -79.3711                    

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