OCTOBER 3, 1927

INUIT ARTIST KENOJUAK ASHEVAK BORN

Born in Ikarasaq, on Baffin Island, in what is now Nunavut, Kenojuak began her art career in 1952 making dolls while hospitalized in Quebec.  Returning to Cape Dorset, she created traditional sculptures and prints.  In 1962, a documentary, Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak, was produced about her by the National Film Board of Canada.  Her drawings made into print form have been exhibited worldwide, including in the National Gallery of Canada.  Honors include being:  Officer, Order of Canada (OoC) (1967); member, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1974); Companion of the OoC (1982); Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (1995); Canada’s Walk of Fame (2001); and Governor General’s Award in Visual & Media Arts, Canada Council of the Arts (2008).  Her works appeared on Canadian postage stamps in 1970 and 1980; Canada Post’s Masterpieces of Canadian Art series (1993); and the 1999 Millennium quarter series.  She died on January 8, 2013, in Cape Dorset.

Source:  "Kenojuak Ashevak RCA (1927 – 2013) Her History," Vincent Art Gallery,  6/26/2014.  Retrieved 7/15/2019, https://galerievincent.wordpress.com/2014/06/26/kenojuak-ashevak-1927-2013-her-story/
Photo:  Ansgar Walk, 5/9/1997.  Permissive Use pursuant to the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en.