08/31/2026
We mourn the passing of Saskatchewan’s David Thauberger (1948-2026), best known for his depictions of Prairie iconography. We send condolences to David's family, friends, and those who were touched by his work.
Thauberger originally trained in ceramics with David Gilhooly, who inspired him to create art based on his own experiences and the area in which he lived. He would later shift his focus to painting, finding inspiration in the work of folk artists he had discovered while working with the Saskatchewan Arts Board collection.
In 2008, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his contribution to Canadian art and also received the honour of the Lieutenant Governor’s Saskatchewan Art Award in 2009.
OSAC joins Saskatchewan’s arts community in mourning the passing of renowned Saskatchewan artist David Thauberger, who died in Regina in August 2026.
For OSAC, David’s legacy is also part of the history of bringing Saskatchewan art to communities throughout the province. His work was featured in Seeing is Believing, a 2004-2006 OSAC provincial touring exhibition that brought together the work of Thauberger, Mina Forsyth, and Wynona Mulcaster. The exhibition invited audiences to look closely at how three very different artists use elements of design to construct an image.
Thauberger became one of the province’s most recognizable and influential artists. Across more than five decades, his paintings, prints and ceramics developed a distinctive visual language rooted in the Prairie landscape, architecture and everyday life. His work transformed familiar Saskatchewan places and images into scenes that were at once playful, carefully observed and unmistakably his own.
His influence was recognized nationally and internationally. Thauberger was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1997, appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2008, and received the Lieutenant Governor’s Saskatchewan Artist Award in 2009. His work is held in major public collections across Canada, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
OSAC is grateful to have played a small part in sharing David Thauberger’s work with Saskatchewan communities. His contribution to the province’s visual arts landscape is lasting, and his distinctive vision of Saskatchewan will continue to resonate through the artworks he leaves behind and the many artists and audiences he inspired.
We extend our deepest condolences to David’s family, friends, colleagues and the many members of Saskatchewan’s arts community who knew and admired him.
(Photo by Don Hall)
