"Can I Get a Picture with You, Gabe?"
Title: "Can I Get a Picture with You, Gabe?"
Creator: Belcourt
Subject: Belcourt, Christi, Dumont, Gabriel, Great Metis
Description: In this 36" x 48" portrait, artist Christi Belcourt has represented Gabriel Dumont, the Métis leader military leader during the 1885 Resistance, as an elder. "I didn`t want to do a portrait of this man based on his youth. I am always much more interested in a person's views once they age, when they can look back on many years, and have insight into a life in retrospect—when they have the wisdom that comes from a lifetime of learning from one's mistakes." Framed by her signature flower beadwork motif, Dumont appears to be reflective on his active life. Belcourt adeptly captures his confidence, determination, and wisdom. Among the Métis, Gabriel Dumont will always remain the courageous chef Michif who led his people in armed struggle against the Dominion of Canada; a 19th-century freedom fighter who was passionately concerned with his people`s self-governance; the quintessential l'homme de prairie who lived freely as a bison hunter and entrepreneur who knew "the prairies as a sheep knows its heath;" and a humanitarian who shared his bounty with the less fortunate. Dumont died in 1906 near Batoche, Saskatchewan of an apparent heart attack.

Gabriel Dumont Institute has acquired Great Métis of My Time, a series of paintings by Métis artist Christi Belcourt. This powerful evocative series of artwork will be housed at the Gabriel Dumont Institute in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Institute is very honoured to be able to add this series to the Institute's permanent collection. The paintings include five portraits of famous Métis: Steve Powley, Harry Daniels, Maria Campbell, Tony Belcourt, and Jean Teillet. In addition, the collection also includes four complementary pieces including a “coat” for Harry Daniels, a “bandolier bag” for Steve Powley, as well as two other pieces which celebrate the Métis’ beading, and embroidery tradition. As the artist writes about the series:

“The Great Métis of My Time project is a series of nine paintings that through exhibition are intended to bring awareness of Métis history, Métis traditional art and Métis contemporary issues to a public audience. The paintings, produced in acrylic on canvas, portray the stories and the lives of five prominent Métis individuals whose determination to seek justice for Métis rights have changed the course of history for the Métis Nation in modern times.”

For further background information about these paintings, please visit the artist’s website at www.christibelcourt.com.
Date: 2008
Type: Image
Date of Copyright: August 21, 2014
Coverage: Ontario, Saskatchewan
GDI Media Filename: Can I get a Picture with You Gabe.jpg

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Category Belcourt, Christi