Artwork Page
  
  The Enchanted Owl
zoom in © West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative Ltd.
Add to My CyberMuse

Kenojuak Ashevak
The Enchanted Owl   1960

stonecut in red, blue, and black on laid paper
Printed by Eegyvudluk Pootoogook
61 x 66.1 cm; image: 37 x 58.5 cm maximum irregular
Purchased 1961
National Gallery of Canada (no. 9577)

Kenojuak Ashevak¿s drawings, prints and sculpture express her understanding of the world through unique imagery. Her early work is filled with images of camp life, people, animals, and for what Kenojuak is renowned: fantastical birds that reveal her ability to capture the essence of her subjects in simple forms. Kenojuak is among the first Kinngait women to have her drawings included in the Cape Dorset Print Collection and her now well-known "Enchanted Owl" was reproduced on a six-cent postage stamp in 1970. The lyrically colourful "Gulls and Ravens" does not find its origins with a drawing, as do many of her prints, but rather arose from layering the cut-out shapes of two of her bird subjects. Her expressively animated sculpture "Two Birds" illustrates the complementary relationship between the artist¿s sculptures and drawing and demonstrates Kenojuak¿s mastery of three-dimensional forms.

   Gallery of:
Gallery Icon Kenojuak Ashevak
Eegyvudluk Pootoogook
  Biography:
Biography Icon Kenojuak Ashevak
  Audioguide:
Audioguide Icon No Audio
  Media:
Media Icon
No Media
 

What's new

Check out the latest additions to CyberMuse – interviews with artists, fun kids activities, stuff for teachers and researchers, and more!

Meet the Artist

Hear what artists have to say about their life and work, in these fascinating video clips.