Kakulu Saggiaktok, The Protectress, 1997

This artwork titled “The protectress” 1997 is a original stone cut with stencil on thin paper by noted Canadian Inuit artist Kakulu Saggiaktok, 1940-2020. It is hand signed, titled, dated, described, located and numbered 17/50 in pencil by the artist. The subject size is 16.5 x 13 inches, sheet size is 18.5 x 23.75 inches, framed size is 25.75 x 30.85 inches. Custom framed in a metal frame, with dark grey backing. It is in excellent condition.

About the artist:

Kakulu Saggiaktok was born in 1940 on board the Hudson’s Bay Company supply ship, Nascopie. Her family had travelled from south Baffin Island to hunt and trap in the northern regions of the island. Kakulu was a child when she moved back to the Cape Dorset area.
Kakulu began to draw in the early 1960’s when the West Baffin Co-operative established its printmaking studios. Many of her images explore the theme of transformation, with animals blending into other animals, humans becoming animals and vice versa. This is a predominant subject in traditional Inuit folklore and Kakulu Saggiaktok mythology, where the natural and supernatural worlds were mediated by the shaman. Kakulu’s work is always imaginative and often playful and charming and much of her inspiration comes from her childhood memories of living on the land.
Kakulu’s mother was Ikayukta (deceased), also one of the early contributors to the annual print collections from Cape Dorset. Kakulu was married to Saggiaktok (deceased), who was a printmaker in the stonecut studio for many years.

Selected Museums:

Her work is held in several museums, including the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, the McMaster Museum of Art, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the National Gallery of Canada, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Canada Council Art Bank, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Brunnier Art Museum, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.Continue Reading