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Paul Kane (September 3, 1810 – February 20, 1871) was an Irish-born Canadian painter, famous for his paintings of First Nations peoples in the Canadian West and other Native Americans in the Oregon Country. A largely self-educated artist, Kane grew up in Toronto (then known as York) and trained himself by copying European masters on a study trip through Europe. He undertook two voyages through the wild Canadian northwest in 1845 and from 1846 to 1848, the first from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie and back, and the second from Toronto across the Rocky Mountains to Fort Vancouver and Fort Victoria. On both trips Kane sketched and painted Aboriginal peoples and documented their lives. Upon his return to Toronto, he produced more than one hundred oil paintings from these sketches. Kane's work, particularly his field sketches, are still a valuable resource for ethnologists, although he often embellished them considerably, departing from the accuracy of his field sketches in favour of more dramatic scenes. Kane's studio works are now considered a part of the Canadian heritage.