Leo Yerxa
Leo Yerxa is a Canadian visual artist, medallist, and writer. He lived in Ottawa, Ontario, then. He died on September 1, 2017.
Leo Yerxa
- Born
- 1947
- Nationality
- Canada
- Occupation
- painter · children's writer · poet · illustrator · young adult author
- Honours
- Governor General's Literary Awards
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Leo Yerxa is a Canadian visual artist, medallist, and writer. He lived in Ottawa, Ontario, then. He died on September 1, 2017.
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wikidata · Q19668737 · wikipedia · Leo Yerxa
In this article
Early life and education
Early life and education
Yerxa was born in 1947 on the Little Eagle Reserve, Couchiching First Nation, in northwestern Ontario. He studied graphic arts at Algonquin College (Ottawa), and fine arts at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario).
Career
Career
Yerxa began publishing poetry and participating in group art shows in the 1970s, and had his first one-man gallery show at the Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre and Centre for Indian Art, entitled "Renegade: The Art of Leo Yerxa", 1984. Yerxa's designs were used for the Series Four 1975 (1976) Summer Olympic Coins. The coins bearing his designs included $5: Marathon Runner; $5: Women's Javelin; $10: Women's Shot Put; and $10: Men's Hurdles. His use of Algonquin art motifs in the design of these coins is considered an early example of Canadian public art expressions of indigenous values and aesthetics. Yerxa is the author or several books for children, including the critically acclaimed Ancient Thunder. for which he received a Governor General's Literary Award in 2006. and Last Leaf, First Snowflake to Fall,
Group exhibitions
Group exhibitions
• 1974 CANADIAN INDIAN ART '74, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario. • 1977 Links to Tradition, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Development. • 1982 Renewal: Masterpiece s of contemporary Indian art from the Museum of Man, organised by Thunder Bay, Ontario. • 1983 Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art of Canada organised by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Development, for UN-Headquarters, New York.
Individual exhibitions
Individual exhibitions
• 1974 Evans Gallery, Toronto, Ontario • 1975 Evans Gallery, Toronto, Ontario • 1978 "bingo," Wells Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario • 1978 Guild of Craft, Montreal, Quebec • 1979 Guild of Craft, Montreal, Quebec • 1980 "Wind, Rain and Snow," Ells Gallery, Ottawa, Ontario • 1983 "Last Snows in Spring," Nishnawbe Arts, Toronto, Ontario • 1984 "Renegade," Thunder Bay National Exhibition Center and Center for Indian Art, Thunder Bay, Ontario • 1986 Galerie Francis Alexandre, Ottawa, Ontario • 1988 Galerie Francis Alexandre, Ottawa, Ontario • 2017-2018 (October 2017, 4th - February 2018, 25th) "Nordamerika Native Museum", Zurich: "Geschichten aus dem Waldland".
Public commissions
Public commissions
• Sketches for Olympic Medal series IV, 1976 • Memorial for Ron Shackleton, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.
Author and illustrator
Illustrator
Illustrator
• 1969:Peter Desbarats, What They Used To Tell About, Indian Legends from Labrador, McClelland and Stewart • 1994:Armand Garnet Ruffo, Opening in the Sky, Theytus Press • 2001:Tomson Highway, Johnny National, Super Hero, Health Canada (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), • 2002:Al Hunter, Spirit Horses Kegedonce Press • 2014:Joanne Arnott, Halfling Spring: an internet romance Kegedonce Press
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q19668737: Leo Yerxa
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Leo Yerxa”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Awards
• Governor General's Literary Award, Children's literature (illustration) 2006 • Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award 1994 • Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award 1994 • Mr. Christie's Book Award 1993 • Governor General's Literary Award, Children's Literature, nominee 1993
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q19668737: Leo YerxaWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Leo MetzenbauerIllustrator
- Leo MielzinerIllustrator
- Leo TimmersIllustrator
- Leo VromanIllustrator
- Léo-Paul RobertIllustrator
- Léon BakstIllustrator
- Léon BenettIllustrator
- Léon BenigniIllustrator
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