Mildred Valley Thornton (May 7, 1890 – July 27, 1967) was a Canadian artist most well known for her portraits of First Nations people. She also painted landscapes in oil and watercolour. Her paintings were usually done in vivid colours. Born in Ontario, she moved to Regina in 1913, and began painting Indigenous portraits fifteen years later. Her portraits were completed quickly, usually under one hour. In 1934, she relocated to British Columbia, and continued to paint individuals of that province's aboriginal population, eventually amassing nearly 300 portraits. Thornton was a tireless lecturer and advocate of Indigenous and women's rights. While lecturing, she often appeared dressed in buckskin, and played Indigenous songs that she had recorded. Besides being an author and art critic, she was involved in numerous literary and artistic associations. She hoped to sell her portrait collection to the Government of Canada, and when this wasn't forthcoming, decreed in her will that it be burned. The portraits narrowly escaped that fate due to a technicality. While popular in her lifetime, Thornton was neglected for some time afterwards. A biography of her by Sheryl Salloum was published in 2011. There has been mixed reactions to her work and persona among First Nations peoples, with some collecting portraits of their ancestors and others regarding Thornton through the lens of cultural appropriation. Source: Wikipedia (en)