Artist.
Born at Sandridge on 31 August 1913, son of Carl Ludwig Tillenius (1875-1953) and Inga Christina Smestad (1887-1987), he attended Clematis School, Sandridge School and Teulon High School. From an early age, he showed artistic talent, sketching and painting the landscape around his home. During the Great Depression, he lost his right arm in a construction accident, forcing him to learn to paint with his left arm. He is famous for his scenic dioramas at the Manitoba Museum and National Museum of Canada.
On 4 July 1942, he married teacher Ethel Anna Sankey at Winnipeg and they had a son. Tillenius served as the President of the Manitoba Naturalists Society (1954-1956) and was a founding trustee of the Fort Whyte Nature Centre.
In 1970, he was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Winnipeg and an MHS Centennial Medal. He received an Ernest Thompson Seton Medal from the Manitoba Naturalists Society (1985) and he was inducted into the Order of Manitoba (2003) and Order of Canada (2005).
He died at Winnipeg on 22 January 2012.
Birth registration [Clarence Tillenius], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Clarence Ingwall Tillenius, Ethel Anna Sankey], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“City artist is commissioned to paint Canadian wildlife,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 April 1960. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B12, page 11]
Obituary [Inga Christina Smestad Tillenius], Winnipeg Free Press, 1 November 1987, page 21.
Obituary [Ethel Anna Tillenius], Winnipeg Free Press, 28 December 1989, page 33.
“Four Manitobans to receive Order of Canada,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 August 2005, page B1.
“The past is presented at rural museum” by Bill Redekop, Winnipeg Free Press, 23 July 2007, page A6.
The Fort Whyte Story: Human. Nature. by Jake MacDonald, Winnipeg: FortWhyte Alive, 2009. ISBN 978-0-9813732-0-1.
“Dean of Canadian wildlife artists” by Kevin Rollason, Winnipeg Free Press, 25 January 2012, page A7.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 May 2023
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
