Saul Williams
Artist Biography - Born 1954 North Caribou Lake, Ontario, Canada
Saul Williams is a Canadian Indigenous painter and graphic artist. Born in North Caribou Lake, Ontario, Canada in 1954, his family moved to Weagamow Lake to live on the North Caribou Lake First Nation Reserve, where he would become a Band member.
In the summer of 1968, Williams met Dr. Mary Black. Williams and his friends would do chores and translation work for Black. Noticing that Williams was often doodling and sketching, Black purchased tubes of acrylic paint for him and later allowed him to decorate her wall with a stylized raven, paying him five dollars for the piece. This painting is now a part of the Royal Ontario Museum collection.
Williams was largely self-taught. He attended school until grade eight and took art education classes at the Elliot Lake Summer School in 1970. In 1971, Williams held his first show at York University in Toronto. Other exhibitions followed, including those at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (1974, 1976, 1977, 1983); the Oakville Centennial Gallery, Ontario (1974); the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario (1978 and 1979); and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (1984). The AGO show was one of the first exhibitions of Indigenous art at the institution.
For the last 30 years, Williams has worked full-time as Education Director at the North Caribou Lake Education Authority. He works closely with parents and the community leadership, he continues to advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous language, traditions, and culture in the curriculum. He still paints but considers it more of a hobby.
Williams' works are held in private and public collections including the Royal Ontario Museum; the McMichael Canadian Art Collection; the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec; New College, University of Toronto; the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario and the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Ontario.
Exhibitions:
1971: The York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1974: The Oakville Centennial Gallery, Ontario, Canada 1974/1976/1977/1983:The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada
1978/1979: The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario, Canada
1984: The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
2009: "Woodland School”. The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario, Canada
2017: Anishinaabeg: Art & Power. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Collections
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinberg, Ontario, Canada
The Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
New College, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Woodland Cultural Centre, Brantford, Ontario, Canada
The Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Ontario, Canada
