signed & titled
Provenance: Estate of John Gareau, Calgary, AB
Henry Metzger was born in France and trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and Academie Julian before becoming a parish priest and settling in Saskatchewan in 1909. He opened his art studio in 1916, and humbly began creating works for churches, in addition to painting portraits of important First Nations leaders for historical record. His work is found in many Saskatchewan churches, and while Metzger submitted his work to several Saskatchewan group exhibitions, he never sought recognition or accolades for his work during his lifetime.
In 1950, he was honoured in a joint exhibition featuring 22 of his native portraits and 45 works by James Henderson, at the Regina fair in the Exhibition Grandstand; this show was meant as a tribute to these two pioneer painters who had recently died. Metzger’s works are now included in several important public collections including the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa) and the MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina).
