Art Canada series enriched by colourful palette of native artist

On 21 February, 2011 Canada Post issued three new stamps featuring the artwork of Canadian aboriginal artist Daphne Odjig. The stamps feature three of Odjig's acrylic pieces. Each painting, Spiritual Renewal (1984), Pow-wow Dancer (1978), and Pow-wow (1969), is a representation of Odjig's passion for the arts and love of her native heritage.

According to designer Helene L'Heureux, "Each painting is totally different from the other two. But they are all so very much Odjig's work, they represent the whole of what her work has been about over the years. The trick was in finding a way to frame such diverse pieces to bring a sense of unity to all three stamps."

Stamp Design Manager Alain Leduc echoes that sense of diversity. "Odjig draws her ideas from a vast range of sources - she paints legends, she paints erotica. She's open to a wide range of inspirations and subject matter, which she makes her own."

The decision to create three stamps for this edition of the series, which in the past has been done only for the Karsh issue of 2008, was made for both aesthetic and practical reasons. In addition to providing collectors with three unique examples of Native Canadian art on stamps, the U.S. and International stamps fulfilled necessary operational requirements.