Daphne Odjig, “The Indian and the Tall Fair Lady”

In 1974, the same year that Daphne Odjig opened her Winnipeg gallery representing First Nations art, Odjig illustrated Dr. Herbert T. Schwarz’s “Tales from the Smokehouse”. Odjig created fourteen paintings of graphic erotica for the publication to accompany First Nations tales documented by Dr. Schwarz.

Following a 2008 exhibition of her works at the Canadian Museum of History, Odjig commented on the erotically charged images: “People were shocked at the time, although things have changed now. The native community was the least shocked of all, though. We were brought up as children to accept these things. Sexual matters were part of life.”[1]

The present work illustrates a passage in the thirteenth story in the text, The Indian and the Tall Fair Lady, a story in which a handsome but naive young man has an erotic encounter with a dark skinned woman after series of mishaps and disappointments in one of the cities “of the white people of the land.”[2]

The present painting comes from the personal collection of Dr. Schwarz, and bears his collector’s notes verso.

[1] Peter Goddard, “Family Feeling”, Toronto Star, 18 September 2002.
[2] Herbert T. Schwarz, Tales from the Smokehouse (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1976).

About the auction:

Anchored by Norval Morrisseau’s monumental 1978 canvas, Young Shaman with Powers, our Major Spring Auction of First Nations Art also includes important works by artists Dempsey Bob, Beau Dick, Alex Janvier, Daphne Odjig, Allen Sapp, Robert Charles Davidson, Norman Tait, David Boxley, Klatle-Bhi, Terry Starr, Allan Weir, and others.

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Please contact us for more information.

Bidding is available May 14 – May 28, 2026.

On view at our Toronto gallery:

 Wednesday, May 20 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
 Thursday, May 21 from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
 Friday, May 22 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
 Saturday, May 23 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
 Sunday, May 24 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
 Monday, May 25 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
 Tuesday, May 26 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
 Wednesday, May 27 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Or by appointment.