Chief Joseph Heavy Shield by Nicholas de Grandmaison

Born in Russia, he began to paint on the walls of his home when he was ten. He completed high school and went into the Russian Army during the First World War when he was taken prisoner and kept in a prisoner of war camp. After the war, he made his way to England where he studied art at the St. John's Wood Art School in London and for a while in Paris.

He came to Canada in 1923 and settled in Banff, Alberta. He started painting in oils but switched to pastels around 1925 which he found more suitable for his travels on the Prairies. He specialized in the portraits of North American Indians and travelled to reservations in the Canadian west and as far south as the Arizona Desert and was the only painter able to persuade High Eagle (last living participant of the Custer massacre) to sit for him (although photos had been taken of this warrior). Perhaps Grandmaison's success in persuading High Eagle to sit for him was due to his great respect for the Indigenous People. When asked why he painted the., he commented, “...to me, it is a great honour. I love them as fellow brothers. They have character, colour and history in their blood. I prefer to paint them. They sit quietly and pay attention when you are drawing them...the white man only says, 'Well okay, draw me: I'll give you 15 minutes now and 15 minutes later.' looking at his watch.” This statement inspired the title of a book which records 64 pastel portraits painted between 1930 and 1960. History in their Blood, by Hugh Dempsey, was published in 1982. Grandmaison told an “Edmonton Journal” reporter that he felt that the white man has never been able to understand the full significance of the Indian race, which was now vanishing.

Grandmaison has also painted the portraits of: William Aberhart (1878-1943) Premier of Alberta; C.D. Howe (1886-1960) former Minister of Munitions and Supply of the Federal Cabinet; R.B. Bennett (1870-1947) former Prime Minister of Canada; and members of the Manitoba Law Society.

He is represented in the National Gallery of Canada as well as a number of private collections, and his honors include an associate membership in the Royal Canadian Academy and the Order of Canada. Grandmaison passed away in 1978. His wife was a sculptress and his son a painter.

Source: "A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume I: A-F", compiled by Colin S. MacDonald, Canadian Paperbacks Publishing Ltd, Ottawa, 1977