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Ottawa (ON) – Canada Post has issued the first in a new series of stamps that celebrate ground-breaking Canadian photographers over the past 150 years. A number of photography curators, critics and writers from across the country chose the individuals and images in this first collection of a multi-year series.

"Not only are the photographs breathtaking, but their creators pushed boundaries to create images that were ahead of their contemporaries. These stamps are a sample of the innovative and inspired work of photographers in our country," says Jim Phillips, Director of Stamp Services at Canada Post.

Artists featured:

• Thomas Coffin Doane: His 1853 daguerreotype portrait of politician Louis-Joseph Papineau is an image of depth and beauty, despite the limitations of the equipment used in the early days of photography.
• Margaret Watkins: Born in Hamilton, she is renowned for her still life. Her work The Kitchen Sink is representative of modernism used in art and advertising photography in the 1920s. She was one of the first women to work at a major ad agency.
• Geraldine Moodie: She was the first woman to focus on Inuit women and their role in their community. Her work Koo-tuck-tuck features an Inuit woman in her regal traditional dress.
• Jim Breukelman: This B.C.-based photographer taught at the prestigious Emily Carr Institute and has influenced many young photographers on the West Coast. His Hot Properties, Urban House Portraiture series seeks to capture the connections between people and their homes and, in the words of the artist, “how a picture of a carefully tended home and garden can be a portrait of the person who lives within.” Hot Properties #1 is featured in this stamp issue.
• Arnaud Maggs: Known for his multiple-grid, serial photographs of faces, Maggs’ famous piece on renowned photographer Yousuf Karsh graces the international rate stamp.
• Rodney Graham: This Vancouver artist’s work is influenced by pop culture. His Basement Camera Shop circa 1937 appears on the U.S. rate stamp.
• Gabor Szilasi: He is known for his need to capture the present moment as echoed in the vulnerable portrait of Andor Pasztor.

About the stamps
The stamps measure 36 mm x 30 mm (horizontal) and 30 mm x 36 mm (vertical) and have simulated perforations. Lowe-Martin has printed the stamps, which are available in booklets of 10, booklets of six, as well as on souvenir sheets of three and four stamps. The stamps, in booklet format, are pressure sensitive and printed on Tullis Russell paper using lithography in eight colours. They are general tagged on four sides. The official first day cover will be cancelled in Ottawa, Ontario. To download images of the stamps or to purchase philatelic products, please visit canadapost.ca/shop.