No. 1
Kent Monkman
Watercolour Study for Beaver Bacchanal (Sepia)
watercolour and gouache on acid-free paper
22.5 × 30 in (57.1 × 76.2 cm)
Price Upon Request
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Exhibition
Kent Monkman: The Colony
Selling Exhibition
October 7 - November 6, 2026
Toronto
In celebration of Kent Monkman’s public art commission The Colony at the Lassonde Art Trail, Cowley Abbott is hosting a selling exhibition of preparatory drawings in graphite, ink and charcoal as well as etchings and paintings featuring the iconic Castor canadiensis. Available works are on view from October 7 - November 6 at Cowley Abbott Toronto, 10 Alcorn Ave.
The Artist's Statement:
The Colony, my public art commission for the Lassonde Art Trail, references the essential role that Castor canadiensis has played in the natural, Indigenous, and colonial histories of Turtle Island.
The sculpture will inhabit a site at the newly-remediated mouth of the Don River in Toronto’s groundbreaking Biidaasige Park. Here, my larger-than-life beavers will feast, sing, dance, and celebrate, evoking Indigenous ceremonies as well as the opulent baroque sculptures of the gardens at Versailles.
To bring The Colony to life, I created hundreds of drawings in graphite, ink, and charcoal over the past three years. The drawings evoke the fanciful lodge and anthropomorphic beavers depicted in Italian artist Veremondo Rossi’s 1763 engraving La Caccia Dei Castori. I exaggerated those human qualities in my beaver sketches to embody a variety of mythological subjects and bacchanal scenes from art history.
The preparatory drawings and final version of The Colony honour the gifts of our beaver kin and invite them to once again assert their presence, share their knowledge, and help restore our ecosystems.
— Kent Monkman
View the Project
View the Lassonde Art Trail Project
29 works
No. 2
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (Lodge)
charcoal on acid-free paper
30 × 40 in (76.2 × 101.6 cm)
Sold
No. 3
Kent Monkman
Ink Study for Beaver Baroque (Presage)
ink on acid-free paper
13 × 11 in (33.0 × 27.9 cm) (sight)
Sold
$9,500
No. 4
Kent Monkman
Ink Study for Beaver Baroque (Jupiter and Callisto, After Rubens)
ink on acid-free paper
8 × 13 in (20.3 × 33.0 cm) (sight)
Price
$9,500
No. 5
Kent Monkman
Ink Study for Beaver Baroque (Leonardo and Mona Lisa)
ink on acid-free paper
9.5 × 11.37 in (24.1 × 28.9 cm) (sight)
Sold
$9,500
No. 6
Kent Monkman
Ink Study for Beaver Baroque (Smoke ‘n Poke)
ink on acid-free paper
7 × 10.75 in (17.8 × 27.3 cm) (sight)
Sold
$9,500
No. 7
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (pêyakohêwâmak, One Family)
charcoal on acid-free paper
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61.0 cm)
Sold
$9,500
No. 8
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (watapîwiwas, Basket)
charcoal on acid-free paper
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61.0 cm)
Price
$9,500
No. 9
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (Canoe Cups)
charcoal on acid-free paper
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61.0 cm)
Price
$9,500
No. 10
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (Rattle and Drum)
charcoal on acid-free paper
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61.0 cm)
Sold
$9,500
No. 11
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (One Spoon)
charcoal on acid-free paper
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61.0 cm)
Price
$9,500
No. 12
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (Dish)
charcoal on acid-free paper
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61.0 cm)
Price
$9,500
No. 13
Kent Monkman
Study for Song of the Beaver Hunt
acrylic on canvas
32 × 48 in (81.3 × 121.9 cm)
Price Upon Request
No. 14
Kent Monkman
Compositional Study for On the Hunt (For Love)
acrylic on canvas
24 × 18 in (61.0 × 45.7 cm)
Price Upon Request
No. 15
Kent Monkman
Compositional Study for The Fun is in the Chase
acrylic on canvas
18 × 24 in (45.7 × 61.0 cm)
Price Upon Request
No. 16
Kent Monkman
Charcoal and Conté Study for The Colony (The Drummer)
charcoal and conté on acid-free paper
23.37 × 17.5 in (59.4 × 44.5 cm) (sight)
Price
$8,500
No. 17
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (sîsîkwan, Spring)
charcoal and conté on acid-free paper
23.37 × 17.5 in (59.4 × 44.5 cm)
Price
$8,500
No. 18
Kent Monkman
Charcoal and Conté Study for The Colony (The Storyteller)
charcoal and conté on acid-free paper
23.37 × 17.5 in (59.4 × 44.5 cm)
Sold
$8,500
No. 19
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (Round Dance Song)
charcoal on acid-free paper
23.37 × 17.5 in (59.4 × 44.5 cm) (sight)
Price
$8,500
No. 20
Kent Monkman
Charcoal Study for The Colony (The Offering)
charcoal on acid-free paper
23.37 × 17.5 in (59.4 × 44.5 cm) (sight)
Price
$8,500
No. 21
Kent Monkman
Study for amiskiss
acrylic on panel
9 × 12 in (22.9 × 30.5 cm)
Sold
No. 22
Kent Monkman
Compositional Study for I am Water
acrylic on canvas
24 × 18 in (61.0 × 45.7 cm)
Price Upon Request
No. 23
Kent Monkman
Cupid
copper plate etching on acid-free paper; edition of 100 plus 5 artist's proofs
5 × 7 in (12.7 × 17.8 cm) (plate)
Price
$700
No. 24
Kent Monkman
Venus
copper plate etching on acid-free paper; edition of 100 plus 5 artist's proofs
7 × 5 in (17.8 × 12.7 cm) (plate)
Price
$700
No. 25
Kent Monkman
Reclining Embrace
copper plate etching on acid-free paper; edition of 100 plus 5 artist's proofs
5 × 7 in (12.7 × 17.8 cm) (plate)
Price
$700
No. 26
Kent Monkman
Smoker
copper plate etching on acid-free paper; edition of 100 plus 5 artist's proofs
5 × 7 in (12.7 × 17.8 cm) (plate)
Price
$700
No. 27
Kent Monkman
Standing Embrace
copper plate etching on acid-free paper; edition of 100 plus 5 artist's proofs
7 × 5 in (17.8 × 12.7 cm) (plate)
Price
$700
No. 28
Kent Monkman
Pencil Sketch for Les Castors Du Roi (Spear Down)
graphite on acid-free paper
8.25 × 7.5 in (21.0 × 19.1 cm) (sight)
Sold
No. 29
Kent Monkman
Les Castors Du Roi
archival giclée print on epson legacy fibre paper; edition of 100 plus 5 artist's proof
20.5 × 18 in (52.1 × 45.7 cm)
Price
$1,050