Born in humble surroundings on the Red Pheasant Reserve near North Battleford, Saskatchewan in 1929, Allen Sapp has become one of Canada’s most celebrated artists. While still a youngster his grandmother, Maggie Soonias, encouraged him to paint, and she continued to be the inspiration for many of his paintings during her lifetime and even to this day.

Allen Sapp has received many honors including membership in the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, named an Officer of the Order of Canada, recipient of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, a Lifetime Award for Excellence in the Arts from the Saskatchewan Arts Board, an honorary doctorate from the University of Regina, and the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Aboriginal Awards. In 2003 Allen Sapp was awarded a Governor General’s award for children’s literature.

His winter scenes depicting life on the northern plains are unsurpassed in their beauty and have received acclaim from collectors world-wide. Allen Sapp has captured on canvas the struggle of people living on the prairies striving to make life meaningful amidst a harsh and challenging environment. His work is represented in major public galleries, private and corporate collections, as well as being displayed in the Allen Sapp Gallery in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.

Allen Sapp is proud of his Cree ancestry and is actively engaged in celebrating the culture of his people, regularly dancing at Pow Wows during the summer months and Round Dances during the winter. He is also concerned about young people and has been actively supporting and encouraging young people to get a good education.

Over the years he has provided books on his art and life to children attending school on the reserves and most recently in cooperation with the Department of Northern and Indian Affairs and the Department of Education in Saskatchewan, donated over 2,000 books “I Heard the Drums” for distribution to schools in Saskatchewan.