Exceptional Results: Fall 2024 First Nations Art

December 18, 2024 By: Staff

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*Kent Monkman, Cree*
*POSTMODERN, 2013*
*Price Realised: $59,310*

This fall’s major auction of First Nations Art profiled a number of important artists, including Kent Monkman.

Monkman’s Postmodern, created in 2013, was an exciting addition to the auction, flanked by works by Daphne Odjig, Norval Morrisseau, Alex Janvier, Norman Tait, Chief Henry Speck Sr., Sam Henderson, amongst others.

Not content to fuse the modernist iconography of the 20th century with the trauma of the 21st, in Postmodern Monkman layers in the sometimes problematic art historical legacy of the 19th century in this complex and compelling canvas.

Postmodern is notable for its intimate scale, 36 x 27 in (91.4 x 68.6 cm), executed in a size more typically found in Monkman’s studies, uncommon in the artist’s finished works. Admired by many, the 2013 work achieved $59,310.

Find out more about the work and the artist in our essay.

*Norval Morrisseau, Anishinaabe (Ojibwe)*
*THE PROTECTOR, 1979*
*Price Realised: $73,950*

Several significant works by legendary artist Norval Morrisseau also performed exceptionally well, including The Protector, 1979, which more than doubled its pre-sale estimate at $73,950, and an early iteration of the same subject, The Thunderbird, circa 1960-62, which achieved $23,750.

*Daphne Odjig, Nishnaabe-Neshnabe (Odawa-Potawatomi)*
*OUR NIGHT OF SONG, 1985*
*Price Realised: $32,470*

Artworks by Daphne Odjig‘s are always appreciated by collectors and we were pleased to offer several outstanding examples in this auction.

An important early work, The Legend of Nanabush, 1968, sold for $18,750 and Our Night of Song, 1985, doubled its pre-sale estimate to realise $32,470.

Read more about works by Odjig from our auction catalogue.

Important works by Alex Janvier also performed well, including Shadow of Summer, 1979, realising $20,000, and Post Clearing-Cutting, 2007, achieving $9,375.