Community
<< back to news listing
Remembering world-renowned artist and school namesake
Thu, 11 Jul, 2024
Edmonton Public Schools is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Alex Janvier, at the age of 89. Janvier is the namesake for the Grades 4 to 9 school on the former Westlawn School site in west Edmonton.
Janvier was born of Denesuline descent with the Cold Lake First Nations. At the age of eight, he was uprooted from his home and sent to the Blue Quills Indian Residential School near St. Paul, Alberta. This is where he began to create his first paintings.
A member of the Indian Group of Seven, Janvier painted both the challenges and celebrations he encountered in his lifetime. “Success to me is a very important word. I had to struggle every bit of the way against great odds,” he said.
Watch our video to hear Janvier speak about his past, his own inspirations and his wishes for students.
His legacy
Janvier credited the beadwork and birch bark basketry of his mother and other relatives as influencing his art. In turn, his work has influenced many generations of Indigenous artists.
Many of his masterpieces involve an expressive blend of both abstract and representational images with bright, often symbolic colours. He created several murals nationally, including the over 400-square-metre masterpiece, Morning Star, at the Canadian Museum of History.
Locally, his commissions included pieces in Rogers Place and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
In recognition of his success, Alex Janvier received three prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, The Tribal Chiefs Institute and Cold Lake First Nations.
He was a member of both the Order of Canada and the Alberta Order of Excellence. He also held several honorary degrees from post-secondary institutions across Canada.
