Collection

The Milne fonds consists of over 486,000 original images in slide format, 52,000 in digital format, various prints including limited edition sets and exhibition prints, 2.9 metres of textual records, as well as audio, film and video, Milne’s reference library, his slide presentations, and a selection of equipment including a variety of cameras and lenses. A substantial portion of Milne’s work documents sacred spaces, specifically indigenous sites, throughout the world. The natural environment and society’s relationship to it was also a focus of Milne’s work, and the collection documents flora, fauna, and landscapes over a thirty-year period. Milne was the first photographer to have considerable success with books documenting the beauty of the prairie, and he remains well-known as the pre-eminent photographer of Saskatchewan. His work varies from the documentary to experimental, abstract, and fine art.

The Milne collection was generously donated by Sherrill Miller with no restrictions; and we look forward to seeing how creatively faculty, staff students and researchers use and extend Courtney’s legacy. One such example was that of Professor MJ Barrett and her Environmental Studies class, who were the first to use the collection once it had been transferred. Milne’s images were incorporated into the classroom as a pedagogical tool, and the class subsequently used them in a short video, presented below.