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i u a pi pu pa ti tu ta ki ku ka gi gu ga mi mu ma ni nu na si su sa li lu la ji ju ja vi vu va ri ru ra qi qu qa ngi ngu nga lhi lhu lha

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Benjamin Chee Chee

Anishinaabe

(1944-1977)

First Name: Kenneth

Last Name: Thomas

Full Name: Kenneth Thomas Chee Chee

Alternative Names: Benjamin Chee Chee

Date of birth: March 26, 1944

Place of birth: Temagami, Ontario, Canada

Date of death: March 14, 1977

Place of death: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Community / Heritage: Ojibwe

Sex: Male

Art Media: Screenprint, oil, silkscreen print, acrylic & ink on paper, tempera on paper.

Bio:

Kenneth Thomas Chee Chee, better known as Benjamin Chee Chee, was a self-taught Canadian artist of Ojibwe descent. Chee Chee was born at the Temagami Reserve in Northern Ontario, Canada. His father died when Chee Chee was still in his childhood, and his mother was absent for most of his life. Chee Chee was sent to a reformatory school at the age of 12, and experienced profound loss and trauma as a result of his turbulent childhood. 

Chee Chee was a prominent member of the second generation of Woodland School painters. While many young Woodland artists worked within the style of the Woodland School’s founder, Norval Morrisseau, Chee Chee preferred to take influence from modern abstract art, resulting in a more minimalistic and graphic style.

Chee Chee developed a unique style of drawing characterized by clear graceful lines and minimal colour, typically depicting black geese and native wildlife. These drawings caught the public’s eye in 1973 after he held his first exhibition at the University of Ottawa.

At the age of 32, Chee Chee died by committing suicide in an Ottawa jail in 1977. He was at the height of his success as an artist and printmaker. He was buried in Notre-Dame Cemetery in Ottawa. 

Chee Chee's work has been exhibited posthumously throughout Canada.

Exhibitions

  • 1973: University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 1974: Canadian Indian Art '74, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 1974: Doma II Art Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
  • 1974: Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 1976: Evans Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 1976: Inukshuk Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
  • 1976: The Sea Chest, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • 1977: “Links to Tradition”, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (travelling), Marion Scott Galleries, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • 1982: Glebe Community Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 1983: Contemporary Indian Art at Rideau Hall. Contemporary Indian Art at Rideau Hall, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • 1991: Benjamin Chee Chee: The Black Geese Portfolio, and Other Works, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Ontario, Canada
  • 2019: The Timmins Museum, Benjamin Chee Chee: Life and Legacy, Art Gallery of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

Collections

  • Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Québec, Canada
  • Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario, Canada
  • Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
  • Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Articles

Artwork

Title Last Sold At Auction
CARIBOU AT REST 2016-06 (June 2016)
CANADA GOOSE IN FLIGHT 2012-05 (May 2012)
GOOSE AND GOSLINGS 2016-11 (November 2016)
HORSE, 1975 2024-06 (June 2024)
PROUD; AFTERNNOON FLIGHT; SCRAMBLE; SEPARATION; FLIGHT TO FREEDOM; GOLDEN BIRD 2014-08 (August 2014)
SEPARATION 2024-03 (March 2024)
SPRING FLIGHT 2013-11 (November 2013)
UNTITLED ("MOTHER & GOSLING" AND "MOTHER & GOSLINGS") 2019-07 (July 2019)
UNTITLED ("STANDING GOOSE" AND "DANCING GOOSE") 2019-07 (July 2019)
UNTITLED (FIRST FLIGHT) 2019-04 (April 2019)

Recent Auction Results

HORSE, 1975
Estimate: 4,000 — 6,000
Sold: Jun 2024 — Sold For: $3,250
SEPARATION
Estimate: 120 — 150
Sold: Mar 2024 — Sold For: $123
UNTITLED ("MOTHER & GOSLING" AND "MOTHER & GOSLINGS")
Estimate: 250 — 350
Sold: Jul 2019 — Sold For: $390
UNTITLED ("STANDING GOOSE" AND "DANCING GOOSE")
Estimate: 250 — 350
Sold: Jul 2019 — Sold For: $480
UNTITLED (FIRST FLIGHT)
Estimate: 150 — 200
Sold: Apr 2019 — Sold For: $660
GOOSE AND GOSLINGS
Estimate: 150 — 200
Sold: Nov 2016 — Sold For: $252

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