Feheley Fine Arts is delighted to present a handy guide of resources for Inuit art, aiding in identification and self-education. Navigating the world of Inuit art can be daunting, but with these curated tools, you’ll find a solid starting point.
Artist Identification
Katilvik is a website which allows for artist identification through either syllabic symbols (artist’s name in Inuktitut) or Disc Numbers (Letter E or W followed by numbers). Please be aware that numerous biographies on this website may be outdated and were created without the artists’ permission or input.
https://katilvik.com/
The Heard Museum welcomes researchers to explore the holdings of the Heard Musuem Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives via its online artist files and online catalog, with nearly 3000 Inuit artists in the database.
https://heard.org/native-american-artists-resource-collection/
Print Information
The National Gallery of Canada has a comprehensive Inuit Artists’ Print Database featuring a complete listing of artists, titles, dates, and mediums. Easily search by title, artist name, or community to access desired information.
https://www.gallery.ca/inuit_artists/search.
Artist Biographies
The Inuit Art Foundation has comprehensive biographies of prominent artists. It also gives the opportunity to stay updated with ongoing projects as new biographies are regularly added, along with insightful commentary on style and visual references. Additionally, private and public art galleries like Feheley Fine Arts frequently share artist biographies for the works they showcase.
https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/profiles
Auction Results
Artnet and Artprice serve as standard research tools for the secondary market. Meanwhile, First Arts stands out as an Indigenous specialty auction house, with its auction results not available on platforms like Artprice or Artnet. To access past auction results, visit https://firstarts.ca/exhibitions/ or explore https://firstarts.hibid.com/.
Publication Sources
To explore the history of Inuit art from prehistoric times to the contemporary era, accompanied by outstanding visual references, as well as, deeper grasp of printmaking in the North, here are some useful publications.
1.Hessel, Ingo, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1998).
2.McMaster, Gerald,ed., Inuit Modern: Masterworks from the Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection (Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 2013).
3.Igloliorte, Heather, SakKijâjuk (Fredericton, St. John’s: Goose Lane Editions with The Rooms Corporation, 2017).
4.Goets, Helga and Taylor, William E.Jr., Inuit Print/L’estampe Inuit (Ottawa: National Museum of Man, 1980).
5.Boyd, Leslie. Ed., Cape Dorset Prints: A Retrospective (Petaluma, CA: Pomegranate, 2007).