Benjamin Chee Chee

Who was Benjamin Chee Chee?

Benjamin Chee Chee, artist, of Ojibwa descent, born Kenneth Thomas Benjamin at Temagami, Ontario 26 March 1944; died in Ottawa 14 March 1977. His early life was troubled and he lost track of his mother, who he spent many years searching for. He moved to Montreal in 1965 where he developed his love of drawing, moving back to Ottawa in 1973. He gained fame as he developed his unique style of clear graceful lines with minimal colour of birds and animals giving sense to emotion and movement. After finally finding his mother and achieving success as an artist, he committed suicide in an Ottawa jail.

Benjamin Chee Chee was buried in Notre Dame Cemetery in Ottawa, Ontario.