Ancestral Portraits is a retrospective of the art and life of Frederick R. McDonald, one of Alberta's most exciting Indigenous artists working today, and a celebration of a rich Cree heritage. With one foot in the world of his ancestral peoples and the other in the realm of contemporary Canadian society, McDonald paints from a unique perspective and uses his art to communicate the culture and spirituality of his ancestors.

Ancestral Portraits is a journey into the creative world of one of Canada's up and coming Indigenous artists.

Frederick R. McDonald is an international, award-winning artist—a painter, poet and photographer—and a member of the Fort McKay First Nation. Fred was born in Fort McMurray and raised in the bush along the Athabasca River, where he was brought up in his parents’ traditional hunting and trapping lifestyle. Although he has travelled far and wide, Fred’s heart is still with his community and he continues to be an active member of the Fort McKay band. Fred keeps himself grounded through his family; his children and his grandchildren are his inspiration for everything he does, and they are his greatest creation.

Frederick R. McDonald's profile page

Vivid . . . [McDonald's] voice and brush are worth heeding.

—Francis W. Kaye, University of Toronto Quarterly