Isa Paddy Aqiattusuk (1898–1954) (also known as Akeeaktashuk) was an Inuit artist.

Early life

He was born in the

Inukjuak Inukjuak ( iu, ᐃᓄᒃᔪᐊᒃ, ''Inujjuaq'' or ''Inukjuaq'' in Latin script, meaning 'The Giant') is a northern village (Inuit community) located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in Nunavik, in the region of northern Queb ...

area of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Art career

In 1953, he was a featured artist in an exhibition at London's Gimpel Fils gallery. His work is included in the collections of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

, the

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec ( en, National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is situated in Battlefield Park and is a complex consisting of four bui ...

and the

Avataq Cultural Institute The Avataq Cultural Institute is Nunavik's official organization for the preservation and promotion of the Inuktitut language and Inuit culture. Avataq has departments that deal with ethnography and art, as well as a library, archive and language pr ...

collection of Inuit art. Many of his sculptures depict hunters.

Later life

Frederica Knight described him as a "friendly, outgoing man, who was fairly unsuccessful as a hunter and trapper, but whose immense talent as a stone carver was immediately recognized." The 1999 book ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' describes him as "a jolly, robust, and outgoing man with an astonishing talent for observing and keenly portraying humans, animals, and birds in stone and ivory." He was married and had children. He died in the

Craig Harbour Craig Harbour () is an abandoned settlement in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on Ellesmere Island, on the north shore of Jones Sound, southeast of Grise Fiord. In 1922, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment was es ...

area of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

, perhaps of a hunting accident, in 1954.

References

1898 births 1954 deaths Inuit sculptors Sculptors from Quebec 20th-century Canadian sculptors People from Nord-du-Québec Inuit from Quebec Canadian male sculptors 20th-century Canadian male artists {{Canada-artist-stub