Gerald Tailfeathers

In 1959, after 18 years of travelling from city to city, Gerald moved back to the Blood Reserve and began painting with passion. Gerald Tailfeathers died unexpectedly on April 3, 1975, on the Kainai First Nation in Alberta. Following his passing, multiple posthumous exhibitions took place to commemorate him.

The University of Lethbridge awarded Tailfeathers an honorary doctorate in 1974. Later that year, he married Irene Goodstriker. They had four daughters: Shery Lynn, Pamela, Heather Ann, and Laurie Lee.

The University of Lethbridge awarded Tailfeathers an honorary doctorate in 1974.

Along with a career full of drawings, paintings, watercolours, and sculptures, Tailfeathers illustrated a children’s book called “The White Calf” (by Cliff Faulknor) in 1965.

Tailfeathers illustrated a children’s book called “The White Calf” (by Cliff Faulknor) in 1965. He illustrated a second book by Cliff Faulknor in 1966 called "The White Peril".

Early in his career, Tailfeathers was directed to anglicize his name so he signed his work “Gerald T. Fethers” until 1963, when he started signing his own name again.

Most of his work was done to accurately represent the lives of the Kainai people. By 1957, Tailfeathers’ work with elders and more experienced artists led him to ensure that his artwork was historically accurate. He wanted to make sure that his depictions of the events and traditions of the Blood People of Alberta weren’t misleading or inaccurate. It was also in the 1950s and 1960s that his work started to attract attention from a greater audience as the “Cowboy and Indian” theme grew popular amongst the media, books, and movies. One of Tailfeathers’ biggest accomplishments was having his art displayed on the cover of Western Horsemen in December 1958. This was the first time a Canadian artist’s work had ever touched the cover of this magazine.

In 1954, he designed the logo for the Indian Association of Alberta (IAA). The IAA was a political representative organization that advocated for Indigenous people and their rights in Alberta.

In a colour film by Garth Roberts, Tailfeathers opened up about his journey as a “young gifted Indian boy” who had to face discrimination from the government. In 1943, just after graduating from the Provincial Institute of Art and Technology with honour and distinction, Tailfeathers wanted a work permit so he could work in a store display department. The government tried to make him work in a warehouse until John Laurie, head of the Art Institute, got the young artist the work permit that he desired.

In the Summer of 1937, Clare Sheridan purchased “Big Bull” from a then, 12-year-old Gerald Tailfeathers, for five dollars, making it the first piece of art he ever sold. At the time, he was currently attending Saint Mary’s Lake Summer Art School in Glacier National Park. Sheridan stated that this was “the first picture he ever sold, and not likely to be his last”. She also quoted that he “was an artist, as truly as anyone can be”, and “there was no teacher who touched it [his artwork]”.

Gerald Tailfeathers (February 14, 1925—April 3, 1975), was one of the first Indigenous Canadians to become a professional painter. His depictions of the “Blood People”, also known as the Kainai people, were brought to life through realism and choice of colours. His work has been described as “romantic, nostalgic, and traditional” due to a majority of his work being in "Studio Style"