Iyola Kingwatsiak (August 3, 1933 – 2000) was an Inuit visual artist from

Kinngait Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning "high mountain" or "where the hills are"; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), formerly known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baffin ...

Early life

He was born on August 3, 1933, in Kinngait (Cape Dorset) in the Qikiqtaaluk Region (

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

). Many of his family members were also artists, including his sister Tye Adla (1936–1990), his sister Keeleemeeoomee Samualie (1919–1983), his sister

Anna Kingwatsiak Anna Kingwatsiak (1911–1971) was an Inuit visual artist. Personal life Kingwatsiak was born in a camp near Kimmirut in 1911, on the south shore of Baffin Island in what is now Nunavut. She was the oldest child in an artistic family, as several o ...

(1911–1971), and his brother Mikigak Kingwatsiak.

Career

Kingwatsiak first worked as a stone carver, then later became well known for his printmaking. His artwork often featured Arctic animals (including birds, rabbits, walruses, whales, and bears). He worked alongside artists

Osuitok Ipeelee Osuitok Ipeelee (23 September 1923 Neeouleeutalik camp-2005 Cape DorsetKananginak Pootoogook Kananginak Pootoogook (1 January 1935 – 23 November 2010) was an Inuk sculptor and printmaker who lived in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, in Canada. He died as a result of complications related to surgery for lung cancer. Biography Pootoogook was bo ...

, Lukta Qiatsuk, and Eegyvudluk Pootoogook. His work is held in a variety of museums, including 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

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

, the

Hood Museum of Art The Hood Museum of Art is owned and operated by Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, in the United States. The first reference to the development of an art collection at Dartmouth dates to 1772, making the collection among the o ...

, the University Art Gallery at the University of Pittsburgh, and the

University of Michigan Museum of Art The University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan with is one of the largest university art museums in the United States. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall ori ...

. In 1992, he attended the Conference on Inuit Art held at the

McMichael Canadian Art Collection The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (MCAC) is an art museum in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located on a property in Kleinburg, an unincorporated village in Vaughan. The property includes the museum's main building, a sculpture garde ...

Kleinburg, Ontario Kleinburg is an unincorporated village in the city of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, an art gallery with a focus on the Group of Seven, and the Kortright Centre for Conservation. In 2001, the vill ...

. Later, he said of the trip, "I enjoyed being there, but the problem was that we sat there like pieces of art in a showcase display. The non-Inuit at the conference spoke as much as they pleased about their own lives and how they lived like Inuit. But they never gave us a chance to speak or asked us questions about our work. The white people dominated as usual. . . .We work hard to make a living with our art and nobody asked us to talk about how we make our carvings and prints and what kind of tools and other things we use."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingwatsiak, Iyola Inuit artists 20th-century Canadian artists People from Kinngait 20th-century Canadian printmakers Inuit from Nunavut Artists from Nunavut 1933 births 2000 deaths Canadian male artists 20th-century Canadian male artists