Gertrude Steiger Kearns (born 1950) is a Canadian contemporary war artist.

Early life

Kearns was born in 1950 to father Frederic Steiger in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Career

Inspired by the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, Kearns began drawing war art with a focus on military experiences in Somalia and Rwanda. By 1997, the War Museum housed two of her paintings of Kyle Brown and later accepted her MacKenzie and Dallaire portraits. In 2003, Kearns was one of the chosen artists sent to Afghanistan under the Canadian Forces Artists Program. Upon her return, Kearns completed a three-panel painting titled "What They Gave," which included an image of three wounded men in hospital settings. In 2005, two of her art pieces depicting Canadian soldiers, specifically Kyle Brown, torturing Shidane Arone, were displayed at the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in a ...

. As a result, boycotts arose from

Clifford Chadderton Hugh Clifford Chadderton, (9 May 1919 – 30 November 2013) was a Canadian World War II veteran and Chief Executive Officer of The War Amps. Life and career Born in Fort William, Ontario, he worked as a news editor for Canadian Press and a ...

and National Council of Veterans Associations who did not want such contents on display. She also created an exhibition of painting regarding

John Bentley Mays John Bentley Mays (June 22, 1941 – September 16, 2016) was a Canadian journalist and writer. Best known as an art and architecture columnist for ''The Globe and Mail'', he also published a novel and several non-fiction books. Mays was born in ...

to display "psychological conflict and the transitory nature of resolution in the face of intellect and depression." Kearns eventually compiled her Afghan war art into an exhibit titled "The Art of Command: Portraits and Posters from Canada's Afghan Mission." From December 2005 until January 2006, Kearns was commissioned to stay with Canadian soldiers in Kandahar and create five paintings from that experience. In 2008, Kearns was commissioned to paint Tecumseh and Brock, the Shawnee Indian leader and British major-general who fought in the War of 1812. By 2011, Kearns was working on creating 24 war posters, specifically images of prominent Canadian soldiers. Despite the willingness of the Canadian military to accept her work, Kearns found that commercial galleries were unwilling to display her art for not being “subversive enough.” In 2015, the Fort York Visitor Centre displayed Kearns military art exhibit "The Art of Command: Portraits and Posters from Canada’s Afghan Mission." In 2019, Kearns was named a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearns, Gertrude Living people 1950 births Artists from Toronto Canadian war artists Members of the Order of Canada

Early life

Career

Further reading

References