Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors

‘History painting’ is a term that was introduced by the French Royal Academy in the 1600s to describe large-scale paintings with historical, mythological, or biblical subjects. Representing the peoples and territories that have shaped the Turtle Island (North America) of today, Monkman’s works both draw on and upend the conventions of this genre to address contemporary societal concerns.

Central among these issues are: the climate crisis and environmental protection, the impact of government policies on Indigenous communities, intergenerational trauma, and the affirmation of Two-Spirit, queer, and trans Indigenous communities’ identities.

This exhibition contains depictions of violence and nudity. Parents and guardians may want to preview.

About the artist

Kent Monkman (born in 1965) is an interdisciplinary visual artist. A member of ocêkwi sîpiy (Fisher River Cree Nation) in Treaty 5 Territory (Manitoba), he lives and works in New York City and Toronto.

Known for his thought-provoking responses to Western European and American art history, Monkman explores themes of colonization, sexuality, loss, and resilience—the complexities of historical and contemporary Indigenous experiences—across painting, film/video, performance, and installation. Monkman’s gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, often appears in his work as a time-travelling, shape-shifting, supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge received notions of history and Indigenous peoples.

Monkman’s painting and installation works have been exhibited at institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Royal Ontario Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Philbrook Museum of Art, Palais de Tokyo, and the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College. Monkman’s short film and video works, collaboratively made with Gisèle Gordon, have screened at festivals such as the Berlinale (2007, 2008) and the Toronto International Film Festival (2007, 2015). Monkman is an Officer of the Order of Canada (2023) and the recipient of the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts (2017), an honorary doctorate degree from OCAD University (2017), the Indspire Award (2014), and the Hnatyshyn Foundation Visual Arts Award (2014).