KINGMEATA ETIDLOOIE (ETIDLUI; ETIDLOIE; KINGMEATTAR; KINGMEEATTA) Born: December 25, 1915 Female E7-895
Place of Birth: Itinik, a small camp near Lake Harbour
Died: February 22, 1989
Resided: Cape Dorset; also lived in Churchill, Manitoba
Drawings, Prints, Paintings, Sculpture
Before his death in 1981, Kingmeata's husband, Etidlooie Etidlooie, was a
graphic and a print artist, a printmaker, sculptor, and painter in Cape
Dorset. Their children, Etulu Etidlui, Omalluq Oshutsiaq, Pukaluk Etungat and
Kellypalik Etidlooie, and their grandson, Pitseolak Oshutsiaq, are sculptors.
"Born at Itinik camp near Lake Harbour, Northwest Territories, Canada,
Kimgmeata Etidlooie grew up and spent most of the first half of her life in
similar sites along the southwest coast of Baffin Island. She began to carve
and to draw in the late 1950s after the death of her first husband, Elijah. As
with most Inuit artists of her generation, Kingmeata's creative endeavors mark
a second phase in her life--one that parallels the significant changes
experienced by the indigenous people of the Canadian Arctic over the past five
decades. With her second husband, Etidlooie Etidlooie (1910-1981), and their
family, Kingmeata moved into the settlement of Cape Dorset in the mid-1960s,
exchanging a seasonally-based camp life for a permanent residence. Both she
and her husband became artist-members of the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative,
recognized internationally for its pritmaking studio and the strength of the
graphic artists it represents.
A relatively prolific artist, Kingmeata had more than fifty of her prints
published between 1970 and her death in 1979. Her work is characterized by a
strong sense of order and structure. Using predominantly simplified animal and
bird motifs, she concentrated on the formal rather than narrative qualities of
her subjects. However, her most important contribution to Inuit art has
probably been her experimentation with media that are more painterly than
linear. In the late 1960s to the early 1970s Kinmeata became one of the first
Cape Dorset artists to work with watercolors, which had been given to her by
Terry Ryan--co-op manager and arts advisor--who recognized the painterly
qualities of her drawings. In the mid-1970s the presence of Toronto painter
K.M. Graham provided a further catalyst who came North to sketch and work with
acrylic paints in her own color-field style. Graham was impressed by
Kingmeata's watercolors and offered her acrylics upon her departure. When a
painting studio was established by the cooperative in 1976 Kingmeata, along
with Pudlo Pudlat (b.1916), was one of the most committed and enthusiastic
users. The rich, saturated colors that were now attainable seemed to mesh
perfectly with her formal sense of composition. In works such as "Sea
Creatures with Birds" (19765), color, shade, texture, and shape are enmeshed
in a delightful, lyrical image."
Marie Routledge.
In "North American Women Artists
of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical
Dictionary" 1995.
EXHIBITIONS: August - September 1968 Eskimo Sculpture, Eskimo Prints and
Paintings of Norval Morrisseau
Art Association of Newport
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, Cape Dorset Graphics
1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, (annual collection)
1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988 (illustrated catalogue)
1973 Canadian Eskimo Lithographs: Third Collection
Presented under the auspices of the
Cultural Affairs Division of the
Department of External Affairs Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
October - November 1974 Eskimo Art
Queens Museum
Flushing, New York, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
1978 Looking South
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
November - December 1978 Polar Vision: Canadian Eskimo Graphics
Jerusalem Artists' House Museum
Jerusalem, Israel
(illustrated catalogue)
May - August 1979 21 X 12 (Eskimo Drawing Exhibition)
Inuk 1 Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
July 1979 - May 1980 Inuit Art in the 1970s
Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development, and the
Agnes Etherington Art Centre
Kingston, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
January - February 1980 Inuit Master Artists of the 1970s
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
April - May 1980 The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit
Art from the Art Gallery of Ontario
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
February - March 1983 Return of the Birds
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
May 1983 - April 1985 Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from
the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art
Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
October - November 1983 The Cape Dorset Print
Presented at Rideau Hall by Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
September 1984 Drawings by Keeleemeeoonee and Kingmeatta of
Cape Dorset, Baffin Island
Houston North Gallery
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
May - June 1986 The Spirit of the Land
The Koffler Gallery
Toronto, Ontario
(illustrated brochure)
November 1986 Inuit Graphics Through the Year: Rare
Prints from the Arctic
Arctic Artistry
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.A.
May - June 1987 Inuit Graphics from the Past
Arctic Artistry
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.A.
October - November 1987 1987 Eskimo Art
Franz Bader Gallery
Washington, DC, U.S.A.
November 1987 Inuit Traditions in Graphics: 1961-1987
Arctic Artistry
Hartsdale, New York, U.S.A.
December 1987 - March 1989 Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre
Guelph, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
June - September 1988 Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art
from the Collection
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
June - September 1988 The World Around Me
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery
Lethbridge, Alberta
March - April 1989 Kingmeata & Lucy: Cape Dorset Drawings
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
August - October 1989 Inuit Graphic Art from Indian
& Northern Affairs Canada
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
August - October 1989 Dorset: dessins originaux/original drawings
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
Montreal, Quebec
October - November 1989 Art/Facts
McMaster Art Gallery
Hamilton, Ontario
February - March 1990 Inuit Drawings
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
June - September 1990 Inuit Graphics and Drawings from 1959-1990
Arctic Artistry
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.
January 1991 Sojourns to Nunavut: Contemporary Inuit Art
from Canada
at Bunkamura Art Gallery, presented by the
University of British Columbia Museum of
Anthropology and The McMichael Canadian Art
Collection
Tokyo, Japan
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
April - May 1991 Inuit Master Carvers
Snow Goose Associates
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
November - December 1991 Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape
Dorset 1991
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Le Colombier
Ville D'Avray, France
December 1991 - March 1992 In Cape Dorset We Do It This Way: Three Decades
of Inuit Printmaking
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Kleinburg, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
February 1992 The Inuit Print and Sculpture 1960-1980
Westdale Gallery
Hamilton, Ontario
February - September 1992 Inuit Art: Drawings and Recent Sculpture
National Gallery of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
November - December 1992 Original Drawings from Cape Dorset
by Lucy, Pitseolak, Kingmeata
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
November - December 1993 Women Who Draw: 30 Years of Graphic
Art from the Canadian Arctic
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
November 1993 - January 1994 Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Muscarelle Museum of Art
College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
March - August 1994 Kunst aus der Arktis
Volkerkundmuseum der Universitat Zurich
Zurich, Switzerland
(illustrated catalogue)
September - October 1994 Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo's
Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum
Huis Hellemans
Edegem, Belgium
(illustrated brochure)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS: May 1977 Watercolour Fantasies by Kingmeata
of Cape Dorset
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
1978 Acrylic Works on Paper
Waddington Galleries
Montreal, Quebec
June 1978 Kingmeata
Burlington Art Shop Ltd.
Edmonton, Alberta
February 1979 Acrylic Drawings by Kingmeata
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
COLLECTIONS: Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
CIBC Collection, Toronto, Ontario
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, Ontario
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, Quebec
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec
Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Department of External Affairs, Ottawa, Ontario
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Laurentian University Museum and Arts Centre, Sudbury, Ontario
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph, Ontario
McMaster University Art Gallery, Hamilton, Ontario
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario
Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
Tom Thomson Memorial Gallery and Museum of Fine Art, Owen Sound, Ontario
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Woodstock Public Art Gallery, Woodstock, Ontario
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS: 1982 'Canada Living' Poster Commission. Kingmeata was one of four artists
commissioned to create prints, which were used as poster designs for 'Canada
Living'.
1984 'Canada Living' Poster Commission. Kingmeata was one of several artists
commissioned to create prints, which were used as poster designs for 'Canada
Living'.
SELECTED REFERENCES: Blodgett, Jean
GRASP TIGHT THE OLD WAYS: Selections from the Klamer Family
Collection of Inuit Art. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983.
Blodgett, Jean
IN CAPE DORSET WE DO IT THIS WAY: THREE DECADES OF INUIT
PRINTMAKING: Jean Blodgett/with essays by Heather Ardies,
Leslie Boyd and Linda Sutherland. Kleinburg, Ont. : McMichael
Canadian Art Collection, 1991.
Hassler, Gitta
KUNST AUS DER ARKTIS: GRAPHIKEN DER INUIT IN KANADA. Zurich:
Volkerkundmuseum der Universitat Zurich, 1994.
Jackson, Marion E.
CONTEMPORARY INUIT DRAWINGS. Guelph, Ontario: Macdonald Stewart
Art Centre, 1987.
Macdonald, John
TAUVIJJUAQ; THE GREAT DARKNESS. Inuit Art Quarterly: Vol. 8,
No.2, Summer, 1993, pp. 19-25.
Muscarelle Museum of Art (Williamsburg)
CONTEMPORARY INUIT DRAWINGS: The gift collection of Frederick
and Lucy S. Herman. Williamsburg, Va.: The College of William
and Mary in Virginia, 1993.
Reeves, John
THE WOMEN ARTISTS OF CAPE DORSET. City and Country Home,
April: 35-43, 1985.
Routledge, Marie
INUIT ART IN THE 1970s/L'ART INUIT ACTUEL: 1970-79. Kingston,
Ont. : The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1979.
Speak, Dorothy
IN CAPE DORSET WE DO IT THIS WAY. Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 7,
No. 2, Spring 1992, pp. 38-42.
Wight, Darlene
BUILDING ON STRENGTHS: New Inuit Art from the Collection.
Tableau, vol. 1, no.5, 1988. p.4.
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