Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors

One of Canada’s most renowned artists, interdisciplinary Cree artist Kent Monkman challenges the art historical narrative of settler cultures that colonized First Peoples from North America. He incorporates influences from the canon of European and Euro-American painting, reframing historical, contemporary and speculative future Indigenous experiences. Taking inspiration from Western artists such as George Catlin, as well as from the Old Masters, Monkman’s monumental history paintings feature white colonizers in violent conflict with Indigenous people. The depictions range from early colonial encounters to modern and contemporary clashes between Indigenous communities and uniformed police or clergy. 

The catalog gathers rich analysis of Monkman’s art from prominent scholars, expanding our understanding of his oeuvre and offering new insight via queer theory, historical and contemporary contexts, visual analysis and lived experience. 

Edited with text by John P. Lukavic, Léuli Eshrāghi

Text by Ned Blackhawk, Brenda J. Child, Adrienne Huard, Bryan C. Keene, Patricia Norby

Designed by Lorraine Wild and Xiaoqing Wang, Green Dragon Office

- Hardcover
- 176 pp, 9.7 x 12.3 inces
- Published 2025