Roy Thomas (1949–2004) was one of the most influential 20th-century

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

painters in Canada, and was famous for paintings of colourful totemic animals. Like

Norval Morrisseau Norval Morrisseau (March 14, 1932 – December 4, 2007), also known as Copper Thunderbird, was an Indigenous Canadian artist from the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation. Known as the "Picasso of the North", Morrisseau created works depi ...

, he became well known when Indigenous art gained mainstream popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Thomas and his family moved to the Long Lake 58 Reserve in northern Ontario in the late 1950s. Like many other First Nations youth of his generation, he was forced to attend a religious residential school. His distinctive style can be seen in the art of younger First Nations artists, many of whom he had mentored.

Death

Thomas died of cancer in 2004.

References

External links

Official site

Artist profile on Bearclaw Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Roy 1949 births 2004 deaths Artists from Ontario First Nations painters Ojibwe people 20th-century First Nations painters