Koomwartok Ashoona is one of the sons of famed Inuit artist Pitseolak Ashoona. Koomwartok Ashoona was born in the year 1930.
The artist had a wife and son who also became professional sculptors. He was based out of Cape Dorset, Nunavut Territory, Canada for his career.
Koomwartok Ashoona passed away in 1984.
His favorite subject matter included birds, the Goddess of the Sea named Sedna, and spirits.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
Its easy to see that the artist loved to draw and observe animals. His works in stone have a wonderful sense of life due to the flowing and curvy lines.
What a great example of an Inuit family that has had multiple generations of professional working artists!
Qaqaq Ashoona was a son of the famous Inuit artist Pitseolak Ashoona.
Qaqaq Ashoona was born in Ikirasak, Nunavut Territory in the year 1928. The artist began life as a hunter and trapper. He turned to art to make a living in 1953.
Ashoona used only hand tools to make his wonderful carvings.
His wife was also a well respected Inuit artist, Mayoreak Ashoona. She was a renown printmaker already featured here.
The artist passed away in 1996.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
Qaqaq Ashoona put great detail in his art. I enjoy his interpretations of the Goddess of the Sea, Sedna. They show a great sense of creativity and the sculptures have a great sense of life and animation.
Annie Pootoogook also comes from a long line of artists, her grandmother was Pitseolak Ashoona, one of the first prolific Inuit artists who specialized in drawing. Annie Pootoogook was born in Cape Dorset, Nunavut Territory, Canada in the year 1969. She enjoys drawing her surroundings and daily life. Her mother was also a prolific artist named Napachie. Its great to look back and compare the work of Annie to her mother and grandmother.
Price range information: Works range from $500 to $2000 for prints. She works in small sizes of 50 for most prints.
The artist won a $50,000 prize given to a promising up and coming Canadian artist in 2006. This award is called the Sobey Arts Award.
In this clip a short interview with the artist at a time when was pregnant and homeless. At the end she shows a recent drawing:
Her grand mother Pitseolak Ashoona made more than 7,000 drawings over her lifetime. She was born in 1904 and below some examples of her style. Pitseolak Ashoona illustrated some children’s books.
Her mother was the artist Napachie, was born in 1938 and lived in the Cape Dorset area a majority of her life. Below an example of her style.
I love artistic families and this one is no exception. With three generations of celebrated artists I am reminded of the Wiggins family and the family of Antoine Blanchard who both produced artists that depicted their surroundings of New York City and Paris, France.
Kiawak Ashoona was born in the year 1933 in the Cape Dorset area of Canada. Another of the great sculptors of Inuit tribe, he is held in high regard for his work with the figure. As with most other sculptors of the Inuits he works mainly in stone and also items like antlers and whalebones.
His mother was the world renown Pitseolak Ashoona I profiled not long ago. In fact the Ashoona family is as well known as the Ashevak family of artists, other Inuit family of artists.
In this clip we view a wonderful work by the artist.
Appointed to the Royal Order of Canada in 2000.
Elected to the Royal Canadian Academy in 2003.
In the early 1970s an exhibition was formed that went around the world, showcasing the Inuit artists for the first time on the world stage. Kiawak Ashoona had a work titled Tornaaq and Young that was on the cover of the book sold alongside this famous exhibition.
price range information: Kiawak Ashoona has produced a small number of etchings and prints but they are rare, unable to form a pricing schedule. Sculptures however, are easily available and depending on size range from a few hundred to a $20,000 dollars.
I love this group of artists coming from Canada. If I were to compare the work as a whole unit of work I would compare the sculptors of the Inuits to the great American artist known for working with animals in a very stylized way, Charley Harper. Many times I see an amazing bird carved out of stone and think that is the way Charley Harper would have produced his work if had learned the medium of sculpture. Below a great example of his style of art using fish as a subject.
Pitseolak Ashoona was another artist coming from the Native Inuit tribe of Canada. She was the last of her generation to live the traditional nomadic lifestyle enjoyed by the Inuit since before 1000 B.C. The tribe lived the basic hunting and gathering life with few material possessions and awful healthcare. She had 17 children and only 5 survived infancy. Ashoona was born around 1904 to 1907 and passed away in 1983.
price range info: Etchings,lithographs, and felt tip markers range $500 to $2500. Works in stone range $500 to $5000.
Again it was the conduit of the Inuit people and the fine art world James Houston who convinced her to give print making a try.
She specialized in much of the same themes, hunting, riding in the canoe, and fables and legends rather than use stones or antlers to carve her story, the artist enjoyed drawing more than anything else and expressed herself in this method although she had done sculptures in the past it wasn’t a main genre for the artist.
The artist had a great use of color and many works were executed with felt tip pens giving them vivid color.
Pitseolak Ashoona appeared on a Canadian postage stamp for International Women’s Day.
Made a Member of the Order of Canada. The highest civilian honor available in Canada.
The artist married a hunter who passed away due to illness when he was only forty years old.
Included in the National Gallery of Art of Canada.
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