(1908 - 1984)
Angus spent most of his life on or around Manitoulin Island, Ontario, and in later life, on the Wikwemikong Reserve. He did not read or write English. His language was Ojibwe. Trudeau worked as a cook in a logging camp, a deckhand on a ferry boat and a logger. Angus Trudeau's style and choice of subjects was uniquely his own. His subjects are often portrayed from his memories as a deckhand or inspired from his picture collection of old postcards, clippings and black and white photographs of old ships. Trudeau was fascinated with steam ships and lake boats. Between the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, before adequate roads were built and when trains could only take you so far, steam ships were the main source of transportation for vacationers who wished to visit the Great Lakes. Most of the ships Trudeau painted have long since sunk or been de-commissioned.
Trudeau's paintings incorporate a variety of media, including some elements of collage and sometimes clippings from the newspaper. His carvings incorporated wire, glass preserve jars, thimbles, and other materials he had at hand.
Angus also painted old sail boats with red sails, lumber camps, hunting scenes and other buildings and events from his community. His paintings depict the history of Manitoulin Island from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Exhibitions
1976, 1978, 1980
Solo shows at the Isaacs Gallery, Toronto
1973 - 1981
Groups shows: Canada House Gallery, London, England
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
MacKenzie Gallery, Toronto
Trent University, Peterborough
Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
Art Gallery of Brant, Brantford
1986 - 1987
McMichael Canadian Collection, Kleinburg, then travelling to: Sarnia Art Gallery, London Regional Art Gallery, Mendel Art Gallery (Saskatoon) and Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
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