Robert Boyer (artist)

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Robert (Bob) Boyer (1948-2004) is a Canadian visual artist of aborginal heritage and university professor. He was one of the leading figures in the aboriginal art in the 20th century. Boyer's career saw so-called 'Indian Art' transform from an activity practiced by a few such as Norval Morriseau in the 1970s to a vibrant and active field of North American art in the 1990s.

Boyer grew up in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and earned a BEd from the Regina Campus of the University of Saskatchewan in 1971. He joined the Saskatchewan arts community in 1973 and worked on community programming at the Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina until the mid-1970s. He was then a professor of Indian Fine Arts at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (now First Nations University of Canada), a federated college of the University of Regina, until the late 1990s. During his time at the SIFC, Boyer acted as the Head of the Department of Indian Fine Arts.

Boyer's early paintings use material such as acrylics, paper, and canvas. The earliest paintings are realistic, but he soon embarked on an effort to incorporate an abstract style in his work. One of the earliest results of this is 'Horses Can Fly, Too', a representation of a horse-figure streaking through the sky. Boyer is well known for his large-scale geometric paintings on felt blankets that he produced primarily in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Boyer used oils paints applied thickly, using rough brush strokes in many of these works. The geometric designs on the blanket paintings come from the tradition art motifs of Siouan and Cree groups in Western Canada. Boyer tended to use traditional colour combinations in early blanket paintings, but some later examples are painted in pastels.

Many of the pieces from the Boyer's 'Blanket Period' are in the permanent collections of major galleries such the National Gallery of Canada and the Norman Mackenzie Gallery. Paintings bear unique and enigmatic titles that came to Boyer at poignant moments such as after sweatlodge ceremonies.

Boyer's influences from aboriginal art traditions are obvious, but he was also influenced by local Saskatchewan artists such as Ted Godwin and Art McKay of the Regina Five, and to a lesser extent Joe Fafard. As a university professor and elder, Boyer mentored many young aboriginal and non-aboriginal artists.

Bob Boyer passed away in 2004 doing what he loved: pow-wow dancing.