Portrait with Nunavut landscape unveiled at Rideau Hall
First portrait done by a First Nations artist at Governor General's residence
CBC News
Posted: Dec 19, 2012 9:27 AM CST
Last Updated: Dec 19, 2012 10:56 AM CST
Governor General David Johnston and John Raulston Saul, the husband of former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, unveil the portrait by artist Kent Monkman at Rideau Hall Monday. (Sgt. Ronald Duchesne/Rideau Hall)
A scene from Nunavut is part of a new painting unveiled this week in Rideau Hall.
It is a portrait of John Ralston Saul, the husband of former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.
The portrait, which was unveiled Monday, shows Saul in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. He is seen lowering a red kayak into iceberg-filled waters, with Bylot Island in the background.
Saul said the portrait will give visitors to Rideau Hall a wider view of Canada.
“It's a very clear reminder that the country is a lot more than the South. It's the North, and it's the North on its own terms,” he said.
Saul has a long connection to the North. In 2001, he spent a month in Pond Inlet working on a book. He also travelled through the North with his wife during her time as Governor General.
Saul commissioned Cree artist Kent Monkman to do the painting. It's the first portrait in Rideau Hall by a First Nations artist, and the first to depict the Arctic.
Saul donated his portrait to Rideau Hall, a tradition for all vice regal spouses.
Saul said he likes that the portrait is set in an Arctic community he has spent time in, and one which is known for its remarkable scenery.
Share Tools
Latest North News Headlines
- Selling caribou meat online may hasten herds' decline: biologist
- Wildlife managers in Nunavut are worried the growing online market for caribou meat may put extra stress on some caribou populations. more »
- Inuvik taxi fares go up $1 today
- Taxi fares went up $1 in Inuvik today, bringing the flat rate to $6. more »
- Japanese 747 waits for maintenance crew in Whitehorse
- A Nippon Cargo 747 airplane is still at the Whitehorse airport after making an emergency landing Thursday. more »
- Canada ranks 3rd last in paid vacations
- Canada ranks third last among economically advanced countries in the amount of paid vacation time it guarantees its workers, a new U.S. study indicates. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Will Rob Ford's supporters leave Ford Nation?
- The growing controversy over a purported video alleging to show Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine may be testing the faith of even his most die-hard supporters. But experts say Ford's policies may trump whatever personal issues he's facing, and that his supporters may rally behind him. more »
- Royal Bank pledges not to outsource jobs for cash savings
- Royal Bank has promised it will never outsource a Canadian job to a foreign worker solely to save money. more »
- Neil Macdonald: How serious is Obama about curbing the drone surge?
- In a key speech this week, the U.S. president set out a host of supposed new safeguards for America's controversial practice of remote-controlled rough justice. But as Neil Macdonald writes, the underlying rationale for drone use has not fundamentally changed. more »
- Making The Mandela Tapes
- Producer Robin Benger describes how he obtained broadcast access to interviews Nelson Mandela recorded in the 1990s. A CBC Radio Ideas program on the Mandela tapes airs May 28. more »
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine
- The mayor of Canada's largest city told a packed news conference that he doesn't use crack cocaine and isn't a crack addict. more »
- Japanese 747 waits for maintenance crew in Whitehorse
- Arsonist died in Iqaluit townhouse fire, say RCMP
- Japanese plane makes unscheduled landing in Whitehorse
- Boats collide, killing 77-year-old woman
- Selling caribou meat online may hasten herds' decline: biologist
- Canada ranks 3rd last in paid vacations
- Inuvik taxi fares go up $1 today
- Body of missing Fort Resolution, N.W.T., woman found
- Police deem N.W.T. woman's death suspicious
