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ESHULUTAK, Eleesapee

Born
Baffin Island, Nunavut, 1925
Died
Pangnirtun, Nunavut, 2018
Biography synopsis
Inuit artist Eleesapee Eshulutak (Eleeseepee/ Elisapee/ Eshulutaq/ Ishulutaq/ Ishulutak) was born at Kanirterjuak on Baffin Island. Eshulutak began to develop her artistic skills when she moved to the settlement of Pangnirtung at the age of forty-five. She was encouraged to draw and produce prints for the Pangnirtung Print Shop annual collections between 1975 and 1987. In 1973, Eshulutak received an award of merit from the California College of Arts and Crafts. The artist's prints, many of which were transferred into beautifully woven tapestries, were inspired by stories she heard as a child. Many of the works depict human figures and animals engaged in traditional Inuit culture, such as hunting, games, and the domestic environment. Eshulutak's use of intuitive perspective and colorful designs gave her work a unique aesthetic sensibility. In 1989, the Eskimo Art Gallery in Montreal held a solo exhibition of Eshulutak's works. More recently, Eshulutak began to work in oil, painting large-scale colorful canvases that explored the culture and lifestyle of Pangnirtung. Since the introduction of the oil medium to Pangnirtung, Eshulutak created monumental contemporary works, such as "Nunagah (My Home Place)," a five-by-thirty foot oil on paper drawing that reflects on memories of childhood. These later works were exhibited in "Drawn 2010," a Vancouver-based annual festival that explored drawing practices across Canada. Through the course of her lifetime, Eshulutak's oeuvre was shown in museums and galleries across Canada, the United States, and in Rome, Italy. Eshulutak's prints, drawings and tapestries can be found in several Museum collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Canadian Museum of History, and the Art Gallery of Ontario. In 2014, she was made a member of the Order of Canada. She was involved with the Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts and Crafts until her death in 2018.
Media used
Drawing
Sculpture
Textiles
File & Archive locations
University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
Canadian Museum of Civilization Archives, QC
Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Writings about
"Elisapee Ishulutaq." Up Here 2.6 (Oct./Nov. 1986): 29
"Monumental Inuit Drawings On a Scale Never Seen Before." Marion Scott Gallery Vancouver: (15 Jul. 2010)
"Oil on Paper: New Works from the Studios of Pangnirtung, Nunavut." Marion Scott Gallery (17 Jul.-28 Aug. 2010)
http://www.marionscottgallery.com/EXHIBITIONS/CONTEMPORARY/201007-OILP/intro.asp
Arts and Culture of the North (Organization). Arts and Culture of the North, Volumes 17-26 Madison, Wisconsin: Arts and Culture of the North, 1984
Bennett, John & Rowley, Susan. Uqalurait: An Oral History of Nunavut. Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004
Billson, Janet Mancini & Mancini, Kyra. Inuit Women: Their Powerful Spirit in a Century of Change. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007
Braasch, Gary. Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming Is Changing the World. University of California Press, (2009): 70-72
Canada Eskimo Arts Council. Crafts from Arctic Canada/Artisanat de l'Arctique canadien Toronto: Toronto Dominion Centre: Observation Gallery, 1974
Canadian Arctic Producers Co-operative Ltd.. Pangnirtung, Recent Sculpture. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers Co-operative Ltd., 1981
Collinson, Helen, et al. Inuit Games and Contests: The Clifford E. Lee Collection of Prints Edmonton, Alberta: University of Alberta Press, 1978
Crandall, Richard C. Inuit Art: A History Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2000
Cross, Dyan. "Woven Art." Imperial Oil Review 3 (2004)
Cross, L.D. "Woven, Not Carved: The Pangnirtung Tapestries Are Northern Art with Global Appeal." Arctic 56.3 (Sept. 2003): 310-316
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Chisel and Brush/Le ciseau et la brosse Ottawa: Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1987
Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art of Canada New York: Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1983
Eber, Dorothy Harley. When the Whalers Were Up North: Inuit Memories from the Eastern Arctic McGill Queen's University Press, 1989
Eber, Dorothy Harley. "Talking With the Artists." In the Shadow of the Sun: Perspectives on Contemporary Native Art. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1987
Eskimo Art Gallery. Elisapee Ishulutak: A Comprehensive Exhibit Including Sculpture, Prints, Drawings & Tapestries. Montreal: Eskimo Art Gallery, 1989
Eskimo Art Gallery. The Maternal Instinct. Montreal: Eskimo Art Gallery, 1988
Finckenstein, Maria Von. "Elisapee Ishulutaq: A Quirky Use of Multiple Perspectives." Inuit Art Quarterly 16.1 (Spring 2001): 30-31
Fisher, Kyra V. "Uqqurmiut: New Work by Four Pangnirtung Artists." Inuit Art Quarterly 25.1/2 (Spring/Summer 2010)
Goldfarb, Beverly. "Artists, Weavers, Movers and Shakers." Inuit Art Quarterly (Spring 1989): 14-18
Gombu, Phinjo. "Sculptor's Art Preserves a Disappearing Culture." Toronto Star (2 Nov. 1989): N5
Heller, Jules and Nancy. North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century New York: Garland, 1995
Hickman, Deborah. "Pangnirtung Weaving Workshop." About Arts and Crafts 3.2 (Autumn 1982): 24-27
Hoffmann, Gerhard ed. Im Schatten der Sonne: Zeitgenoessische Kunst der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada. Stuttgart, Germany: Edition Cantz, (1988): 588-591
Inuit Art Foundation. "The Artist: Ishulutaq, Elisapee." Inuit Art Alive 2010
http://www.inuitartfoundation.org/profiles/artist/Elisapee-Ishulutaq
Jerusalem Artists' House Museum. Polar Vision: Canadian Eskimo Graphics Jerusalem: Na'amat, 1978
Kozinska, Dorota. "The Art of Cultural Revival: Montreal Printmakers Teach Their Skills to Aboriginal People of the North." Gazette (30 Mar. 1997): D5
Lacasse, Patrick. "Dance in Inuit Art." Inuit Art Quarterly 15.4 (Winter 2000): 46-47
Lester, Patrick D. "Ishulutaq, Elisapee: Inuit." The Biographical Directory of Native American Painters. University of Oklahoma Press, 1995
Milroy, Sarah, et al.. Elisapee Ishulutaq: My World. Kleinburg, Ontario: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 2022
Munro, Mary. "Pangnirtung Women Carvers." North/Nord 22.5 (Sept.-Oct. 1975): 46-49
Murray, Connie Higginson. "Cultural Changes Woven in Time: Respected Inuk Artist Eleesapee Ishulutaq Proudly Shows Off Her Stunning Drawings, Part of a Collection of Tapestries on Display in Gatneau, to Connie Higginson Murray Ottawa Citizen (22 Feb. 2002): D1
National Gallery of Modern Art. Eskimo Games: Graphics and Sculpture Rome, Italy: 1981
National Museum of Man. The Inuit Print/L'estampe inuit Ottawa: National Museum of Man, 1982
Pangnirtung Eskimo Co-operative. Pangnirtung 1976 Prints/ Estampes. Pangnirtung, Northwest Territories: Pangnirtung Eskimo Co-operative, 1976
Pangnirtung Eskimo Co-operative. Pangnirtung Prints. [Annual] Pangnirtung, Northwest Territories: Pangnirtung Eskimo Co-operative, (1973-1986)
Rothmans of Pall Mall Ltd.. Inuit Art: A Selection of Inuit Art from the Collection of the National Museum of Man, Ottawa and the Rothmans Permanent Collection of Inuit Sculpture, Canada Rothmans of Pall Mall Ltd., 1981
Sabbath, Lawrence. "Exhibition Season Busiest in City's History: Summer's Almost Over But There's Plenty of Action in the Months to Come." Gazette (21 Sept. 1985): D14
Shulman, Neville. Some Like It Cold: Arctic and Antarctic Expeditions. Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press, 2003
Sparling, Mary. Contemporary Art from Pangnirtung. Halifax: Mount Saint Vincent University, 1991
Swinton, George. Sculpture of the Inuit Toronto: McLelland & Stewart, 1999
Van Raalte, Sharon. "Inuit Women and Their Art." Communiqué (Apr. 1975): 21-23
Von Finckenstein, Maria ed. Nuvisavik: The Place Where We Weave. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Civilzation, 2002
Watt, Virginia ed. The Permanent Collection Inuit Arts and Crafts c. 1900-1980. Montreal: Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, 1980
Wells, Craig. Pangnirtung Printmaking: Heritage and Survival. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1993
Williams, Megan. "Weaving in Pangnirtung/Le tissage à Pangnirtung." About Arts and Crafts/L'art et l'artisanat 3.2 (Autumn 1979): 24-27
Winnipeg Art Gallery. Looking South Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1978

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