Rare 1959 Cape Dorset print collection headed for auction “One of the most nationally important movements in the history of Canadian art” By NUNATSIAQ NEWS April 17, 2013
Rabbit Eating Seaweed by Kenojuak Ashevak is among the prints in the 1959 Cape Dorset collection. A collection of Inuit prints worth up to $450,000 will be sold next month in Toronto when Waddington’s Auction House in Toronto auctions off a complete 1959 Cape Dorset print collection. The year 1959 marked the first year in which Inuit in Cape Dorset produced prints. Waddington’s says this collection is “perhaps the only complete set in existence.” This collection, which includes many iconic images, was most recently celebrated in the exhibition, “Uuturautilt: Cape Dorset Celebrates 50 Years of Printmaking,” at Canada’s National Gallery in 2009. “This collection represents one of the most nationally important movements in the history of Canadian art,” said Duncan McLean, president of Waddington’s, in a recent news release. Artists included in the 1959 collection include Kenojuak Ashevak, Tudlik, Osuitok Ipeelee, Kellypalik Mangitak, Niviaxie, Kananginak Pootoogook and Josephie Pootoogook, Lukta Qiatsuk, Kunu and Iyola Kingwatsiak. The 1959 Cape Dorset print collection, slated for auction May 6 at 7 p.m., carries a pre-auction estimate of $400,000 to $450,000 — but could sell for much more. The prints are part of a larger spring Inuit art auction will be held at Waddington’s galleries located at 275 King St. E, in Toronto May 4 and May 5.