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i u a pi pu pa ti tu ta ki ku ka gi gu ga mi mu ma ni nu na si su sa li lu la ji ju ja vi vu va ri ru ra qi qu qa ngi ngu nga lhi lhu lha

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Pitseolak Ashoona, O.C., R.C.A.

SKIN TENT


PITSEOLAK ASHOONA, O.C., R.C.A. (1904-1983), KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
SKIN TENT

engraving, 1969, 46/50, Minor imperfections, mat burn around perimeter, hinge tape remnant on verso. Overall very good condition.

Please contact the specialist for further condition information.

10 x 12 in — 25.4 x 30.5 cm

Provenance:
Estate of W.A. Ross MacFadden, Toronto, ON

Note:
Pitseolak Ashoona's art career began with sewing and embroidering in an arts and crafts program initiated by the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. For two years she made primarily sewn works until the Kinngait (Cape Dorset) graphics studio was established in 1959. Inspired by works made by her cousin Kiakshuk, Pitseolak began drawing, and quickly became recognized for her work in graphite, and later print media. [1] An early practitioner of engraving following its introduction by Terry Ryan (1922-2017) to Kinngait in 1961, Pitseolak’s drawing style of shading through rapid line movements seems to have found perfect expression in the medium of engraving with its capacity to express wiry thin lines. [2]

A highly acclaimed artist even in her own lifetime, Pitseolak Ashoona was also the mother of important artists Kiawak, Kaka, Koomwartok, Ottochie, and Napatchie Pootoogook.

Skin Tent from 1968 depicts a woman posed in the entryway to a summer dwelling rendered in Pitseolak Ashoona’s distinctive motif of rhythmic parallel lines.

Of the relatively small number of early engravings produced by Pitseolak, we are very pleased to offer nine in this auction (see lots 14 through 22).


Published:

West-Baffin Eskimo Co-Operative, Eskimo Graphic Art, Les arts graphiques esquimaux 1968, Cape Dorset, N.W.T.: West-Baffin Eskimo Co-Operative, 1968. pl. 63.

References:

1. Lalonde, Christone, “Pitseolak Ashoona, Life and Work”, Art Canada Institute. Accessed February 21, 2022. Click here to read more.

2. Eber, Dorothy Harley, Pitseolak Ashoona in Pictures Out of My Life, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2003, p. 102.

Estimate: $300—500

Auction Results

Auction Date Auction House Lot # Low Est High Est Sold Price
2022-03-17 Waddington's 18 300 500 180.00
2021-03-04 Waddington's 30 250 350 192.00
2008-10-30 Waddington's 27 250 350 180.00
2007-04-23 Waddington's 10 250 350 360.00

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