Denver Art Museum presents Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors in April 2025

First major survey in the U.S. for celebrated Cree artist will feature 41 monumental paintings

DENVER–September 4, 2024–The Denver Art Museum will present the first major survey in the U.S. for celebrated artist Kent Monkman (Fisher River Cree Nation, b. 1965), in partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors will be on view from April 20, 2025, through August 17, 2025, in the museum’s Anschutz Gallery on level 2 of the Hamilton Building and is included in general admission.

Lakeside forest scene with naked people and Native American figures painting

Kent Monkman (Fisher River Cree Nation), History is Painted by the Victors, 2013. Acrylic paint on canvas; 72 x 113¼ x 1½ in. Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum, 2016.288. © Kent Monkman

Native Americans clinging to the side of a cliffside

Kent Monkman (Fisher River Cree Nation), The Deluge, 2019. Acrylic paint on canvas, 120 × 102 in. Private collection, Canada. © and image courtesy of Kent Monkman.

Based in New York City and Toronto, Canada, Monkman is known for his provocative interventions into Western European and American art history. Through his painting, Monkman pushes forward an understanding of the lived experiences of Indigenous people today while confronting colonial injustices. Featuring 41 monumental works, History is Painted by the Victors draws from the DAM’s extensive collection of Monkman’s work alongside newly created works and loans from other institutions and private collections, including the monumental mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People) diptych from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, touring for the first time.

“We are extremely proud to bring the first major show in the U.S. to our community in partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts,” said Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the Denver Art Museum. “Visitors from Denver and around the country will have the unique opportunity to connect with Kent’s staggering history paintings rooted in the resiliency of Indigenous communities in the face of injustice.”

History is Painted by the Victors explores Kent Monkman’s use of history painting as a contemporary genre to highlight relevant issues such as climate change and environmental protection, the impact of governmental policies on historically marginalized communities, generational trauma, and Two-Spirit and other queer identifying communities’ visibility and pride.

Monkman frequently confronts difficult subjects in his large-scale history paintings ranging from the absence and erasure of Indigenous artists in the art history canon, to the representation of 2SLGBTQ+ people in art, and the ongoing project to decolonize bodies and sexuality while challenging gender norms and generational trauma inflicted by forced residential and boarding school experiences. History is Painted by the Victors explores several key moments in Monkman’s career, including the inception of Monkman’s provocateur alter ego—Miss Chief Eagle Testickle— whom he often places in his canonical landscape and genre paintings of 19th century North America as well as The Rendezvous series, which focuses on the “golden age” of settler/Indigenous relations.

Young boy reaching up to a bird in the windowsill

Kent Monkman (Fisher River Cree Nation), Compositional Study for The Sparrow, 2022. Acrylic paint on canvas, 43 × 36 in. From the collection of Brian A. Tschumper. © and image courtesy of Kent Monkman

“The DAM has supported and acquired Kent’s boundary-breaking work for over a decade, and we are proud to be the first museum in the U.S. to present this broad examination of his career, creating an opportunity for American audiences to experience Kent’s monumental art firsthand.” said John P. Lukavic, the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Native Arts and Head of the Native Arts Department at Denver Art Museum.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the DAM will publish a catalog with DelMonico Books featuring contributions from Lukavic and co-curator Léuli Eshrāghi (Seumanutafa and Tautua Sāmoan), Curator of Indigenous Practices at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts along with some of today’s leading scholars including Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone), National Book Award Winner and Professor of History and American Studies at Yale; Brenda J. Child (Ojibwe), Northrop Professor of American Studies at the University of Minnesota; Adrienne Huard (Anishinaabe), Two-Spirit performer, scholar, curator, and writer; Bryan C. Keene, Associate Professor of Art History and Theatre at Riverside City College and former Associate Curator of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum; and Patricia Norby (P’urhépecha), Associate Curator of Native American Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors is organized by the Denver Art Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It is presented with generous support from Henry Luce Foundation, The Christensen Fund, the donors to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and the residents who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine and CBS Colorado.

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About the Denver Art Museum

The Denver Art Museum is an educational, nonprofit resource that sparks creative thinking and expression through transformative experiences with art. Its holdings reflect the city and region—and provide invaluable ways for the community to learn about cultures from around the world. Metro area residents support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), a unique funding source serving hundreds of metro Denver arts, culture and scientific organizations. For museum information, call 720-865-5000 or visit www.denverartmuseum.org.

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