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PITALOOSIE SAILA (PITALOUISA; PITALOOSEE) Born: August 11, 1942 Female E7-1006
Resides: Cape Dorset
Drawings, Prints
"The graphic artist Pitaloosie Saila chooses people, compositions of people
and animals, birds, Canadian Inuit traditional events, and Inuit mythical
figures and spirits as her subjects. Born in Cape Dorset, Northwest
Territories, Pitaloosie experienced camp life and, because of severe illness,
was exposed to southern lifestyles and cultures. She lived in Halifax,
Montreal, and Hamilton, Ontario, between 1950 and 1957 where she learned to
speak English and some French. In 1960 she married sculptor Pauta Saila. They
live in Cape Dorset where they have an active and committed life with their
children and grandchildren.
Pitaloosie started to draw in the early to mid-1960s. In 1968 some of her
drawings were turned into graphics, and they have regularly been part of the
Cape Dorset annual graphics collections. Throughout her artistic career,
Pitaloosie has treated a wide range of themes and has developed personal
styles that range from pure realism to formal/abstract, and that include
compositions blending both styles. She tends to stylize and to reduce to the
essential, the shape of a single subject. Powerful compositions are the
result. Some of Pitaloosie's works are uniquely striking for their
unconventional style, their modernist approach, and their intelligent use of
color and texture. Like other Cape Dorset artists, Pitaloosie uses her art to
express her concerns and to be in her own way a chronicler of the traditional
Inuit way of life.
Pitaloosie belongs to the second generation of Inuit graphic artists. Her
well-defined style has been enriched and broadened and yet still reflects the
aesthetic of the graphic art movement from the Cape Dorset school."
from "Pitaloosie Saila (1942-)", 1995
(see reference below)
EXHIBITIONS: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, Cape Dorset Graphics
1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, (annual collection)
1978, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, (illustrated catalogue)
1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991,
1992, 1994
November 1969 Eskimo Art
Robertson Galleries
Ottawa, Ontario
September - Oct 1970 Canadian Eskimo Arts Festival
Alaska Methodist University Galleries
Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
January - February 1971 The Art of the Eskimo
Simon Fraser Gallery,
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, British Columbia
(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 - Nov 1974 Eskimo Art
Queens Museum
Flushing, New York, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
1975 - 1979 We Lived by Animals/Nous Vivions des Animaux
Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development in
cooperation with the Department
of External Affairs
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
Oct 1975 - Dec 1977 Inuit Games/Inuit Pinguangit/Jeux des inuit
Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated brochure)
Jan 1977 - June 1982 The Inuit Print/L'estampe inuit
Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development and the
National Museum of Man
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
April 1978 ape Dorset Lithographs 1978
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
November - Dec 1978 Polar Vision: Canadian Eskimo Graphics
Jerusalem Artists' House Museum
Jerusalem, Israel
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1979 - Oct1981 Images of the Inuit: from the Simon
Fraser Collection
Simon Fraser Gallery,
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, British Columbia
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
April - May 1980 The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit
Art from the Art Gallery of Ontario
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
June 1981 Transformation
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
(illustrated brochure)
October 1981 - Jan 1983 Cape Dorset Engravings
Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development, circulated
by the Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated brochure)
September 1982 Break-up and Freeze-up
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
(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)
September 1983 The Way We Were - Traditional Eskimo Life
Snow Goose Associates
Seattle, Washington, USA
October - Nov 1983 The Cape Dorset Print
Presented at Rideau Hall by Indian and
Northern Affairs Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Feb 1984 - June 1986 Arctic Vision: Art of the Canadian Inuit
Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development and Canadian
Arctic Producers
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
September - Oct 1984 On the Land
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
October 1984 Images of the Far North
Studio Art Gallery,
State University of New York
Binghamton, New York, U.S.A.
Dec 1984 - Feb 1985 The Last and First Eskimos
Museum of Science and History
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.
May - June 1986 Northern Exposure: Inuit Images of Travel
Burnaby Art Gallery
Burnaby, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
November 1986 The Ancestors/Links Between Worlds
Minnesota Museum of Art
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
(illustrated brochure)
November 1986 Inuit Graphics Through the Year: Rare
Prints from the Arctic
Arctic Artistry
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.A.
November - Dec 1986 Cape Dorset Prints and Sculpture
McMaster Art Gallery
Hamilton, Ontario
February - June 1987 The Lindsay and Swartz Collections:
New Acquisitions
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
May - June 1987 Inuit Graphics from the Past
Arctic Artistry
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.A.
October - Nov 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.
Dec 1987 - Feb 1988 Inuk, Inuit: Art et tradition chez les
esquimaux d'hier et d'aujourd'hui
presented by L'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai,
at Musee des Beaux-arts d'Arras
Arras, France
(illustrated catalogue)
December 1988 - 1989 Im Schatten der Sonne:Zeitgenossische Kunst
der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada/In the
Shadow of the Sun:Contemporary Indian and Inuit
Art in Canada
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
1989 - 1991 Flights of Fancy - Kenojuak Ashevak,
Lucy Qinnuayuak, Pitaloosie Saila
Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated brochure)
January - February 1989 Images of the Far North
Arctic Artistry
(held at the Erie County Fairgrounds)
Hartsdale, New York, U.S.A.
June - July 1989 Cape Dorset Women Artists
Kenojuak, Pitaloosie and Lucy
Gallery Indigena
Stratford, Ontario
July - September 1989 Mother and Child: Selections from the
Inuit Collection of the Art Gallery
of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
August 1989 Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux
du Canada
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Chapelle de la Visitation,
Thonon
France
August - October 1989 Inuit Graphic Art from Indian
& Northern Affairs Canada
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
January 1990 Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Centre d'Action Culturelle du Bassin
Houllier, Lorrain, Saint Avold
France
January - Sep 1990 Arctic Mirror
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Hull, Quebec
March 1990 Art Inuit, l'Art des Esquimaux du Canada
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Maison Falleur, Cambrai
France
April 1990 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Palais de l'Europe
Le Touquet, France
June - September 1990 Inuit Graphics and Drawings from 1959-1990
Arctic Artistry
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.
July 1990 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Thonon les Bains
France
Nov - Dec 1990 Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape
Dorset 1990
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Centre Culturel Canadien
Paris, France
February - April 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Humbert
Nantes, France
March - April 1991 Estampes Inuit: Trois Graveurs de Cape Dorset
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Musepict
Marseille, France
March - April 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Le Theatre
La Ciotat, France
April - May 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Palais de l'Europe
Le Touquet, France
April - June 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie La Tour des Cardinaux
L'Isle sur la Sorgue, France
May - June 1991 Mother and Child: Sculpture and Prints
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
(illustrated brochure)
May - June 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at La Halle aux Bles
Saint Malo, France
June - July 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Ombre et Lumiere
Ensisheim, France
July 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Chapelle de la Visitation
Thonon, France
July - August 1991 Glaciopolis: Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Maison de Pesey
Les Arcs, France
August - Sep 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Akenaton
Troyes, France
October - Dec 1991 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Maite Aubert
Le Havre, France
November - Dec 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
Dec 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 - April 1992 Art Inuit
Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai
at Galerie Montador
Dieppe, France
June - July 1992 Women of the North: An Exhibition
of art by Inuit Women of the
Canadian Arctic
Marion Scott Gallery
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
Nov 1993 - Jan 1994 Contemporary Inuit Drawings
Muscarelle Museum of Art
College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
March 1994 Patiently I Sing
Selections from the Tyler/Brooks Collection
Carleton University Art Gallery
Ottawa, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
May - June 1994 Cape Dorset Revisited - a collection
of previously unreleased prints, exhibited
at selected commercial galleries, organized by
West Baffin Eskimo Co-op
Cape Dorset, Northwest Territories
May 1994 - July 1995 Cape Dorset Revisited
McMichael Canadian Art Collection
Kleinburg, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1994 Arctic Spirit
35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art
Frye Art Museum
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
September - Oct 1994 Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo's
Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum
Huis Hellemans
Edegem, Belgium
(illustrated brochure)
Oct 1994 - Sept 1995 Isumavut:The Artistic Expression
of Nine Cape Dorset Women
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Hull, Quebec
(illustrated catalogue)
March - July 1995 Immaginario Inuit
Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi
Galleria d'Arte Moderna
e Contemporanea
Verona, Italy
(illustrated catalogue)
June 1995 - Feb 1996 Inuit Woman: Life and Legend in Art
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
September 1995 Sedna: Spirit of the Sea
Feheley Fine Arts
Toronto, Ontario
March - April 1996 Works on Paper from the Permanent
Collection of Inuit Art
Canadian Guild of Craft Quebec
Montreal, Quebec
SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 1974 Pitaloosie Saila
Inukshuk Gallery
Waterloo, Ontario
January 1974 Retrospective Prints and Recent Drawings by
Pitaloosie
Beckett Gallery
Hamilton, Ontario
June - July 1981 Pitaloosie Saila Drawings
Gallery One
Toronto, Ontario
February 1993 Pitaloosie Saila Graphics
Arctic Artistry
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.A.
February Drawings by Pitaloosie Saila, Cape Dorset
Albers Gallery of Inuit Art
San Francisco, California
February - March 1994 Pitaloosie Saila: Original Drawings
Albers Gallery
San Fracisco, California
COLLECTIONS: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.
Amway Environmental Foundation Collection, Ada, Michigan, U.S.A.
Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario
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
Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.A.
Department of External Affairs, Ottawa, Ontario
Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories
Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
London Regional Art Gallery, London, 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
Nickle Arts Museum, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
Teleglobe Canada, Montreal, Quebec
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS: 1972 Participated in an animation workshop sponsored by the National Film Board of
Canada. One of her animated shorts was featured in the resulting film
"Animation from Cape Dorset."
1974 Attended the opening of a solo exhibition of her work at Beckett
Gallery in Hamilton, Ontario.
1977 Pitaloosie's print 'Fisherman's Dream' was reproduced as a twelve cent stamp,
which was issued November 18,1977.
1980 Etching Portfolio I. Pitaloosie was one of six artists who assembled a special
portfolio of prints which is documented in the Cape Dorset Graphic annual
catalogue of 1980.
1983 Pitaloosie's print 'Arctic Madonna' was chosen for a 1983 UNICEF card. 1985 Newfoundland Historic Park Association Commission. The artist was chosen to
represent the Northwest Territories in a Centennial Arts Project sponsored
by Newfoundland Historic Park Association. Her lithograph 'Among the Hills' is
documented in the Cape Dorset Graphic annual catalogue of 1985.
1986 Norgraphics Limited. Pitaloosie was one of several artists whose work was
acquired and released by Norgraphics Limited between 1976 and 1984. The works
that were selected are documented in the Cape Dorset Graphic annual catalogue
of 1986.
1986 Pitaloosie's etching 'Arctic Mother' was commissioned by the Potash Company
of Canada, and is documented in the Cape Dorset Graphic annual catalogue
of 1986.
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS: (continued)
1988 Attended the opening of the exhibition " In the Shadow of the Sun" in
Dortmund, Germany on December 9th.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
ARTS OF THE ESKIMO: PRINTS: /Ed. by Ernst Roch. Texts by
Patrick Furneaux and Leo Rosshandler. Montreal: Signum Press in
association with Oxford University Press, Toronto, 1974.
IM SCHATTEN DER SONNE: Zeitgenoessische Kunst der Indianer und
Eskimos in Kanada. [In the Shadow of the Sun: Contemporary Art
of the Indians and Eskimos in Canada]. Stuttgart: Edition
Cantz. Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1988.
Berlo, Janet Catherine
AN EXHIBITION, A BOOK AND AN EXAGGERATED REACTION: A review
essay by Janet Catherine Berlo. Inuit Art Quarterly: 10(1)
Spring 1995, pp. 26-36.
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.
Browne, Evan
INUIT CULTURE GETS STAMP OF APPROVAL. North/Nord, vol. 24, no.
6, November/December, 1977. pp.32-33.
CEAC [Canadian Eskimo Arts Council]
TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW WITH PITALOOSIE SAILA: Interviewed
by Sharon van Raalte, translation by Maata in May, 1985 in Cape
Dorset, N.W.T. Ottawa: Canadian Eskimo Arts Council in
collaboration with the Inuit Art Section, INAC, amd the
Natiional Film Board of Canada, 1985.
Gustavison, Susan J.
ARCTIC EXPRESSIONS: INUIT ART AND THE CANADIAN ESKIMO ARTS
COUNCIL 1961 - 1989. Kleinburg, Ont.: McMichael Canadian Art
Collection, 1994.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
RETURN OF THE BIRDS. Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery, 1983.
Jackson, Marion. E. [Ed.]
PATIENTLY I SING: SELECTIONS FROM THE TYLER/BROOKS COLLECTION
OF INUIT ART: [Selected by] Mary Haydon, S. Holyck Hunchuck,
Christine Lalonde [and] Helen Rapp. Ottawa, Ont.: Carleton
University Art Gallery, 1994.
Leroux, Odette
PITALOOSIE SAILA (1942-). In North American Women Artists of
the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary/ Garland, 1995.
Leroux, Odette et alia
INUIT WOMEN ARTISTS: VOICES FROM CAPE DORSET: Edited by Odette
Leroux, Marion E. Jackson and Minnie Aoudla Freeman. Hull,
Que.: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1994.
Lipton, Barbara
ARCTIC VISION: Art of the Canadian Inuit. Ottawa : Canadian
Arctic Producers, 1984.
Mekler, Gilda
DORSET PRINTS-ENCOURAGING SIGNS OF LIFE. Nunatsiaq News,
November 3, 1977.
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.
National Museum of Man
THE INUIT PRINT = L'ESTAMPE INUIT: A Travelling Exhibition... =
Une exposition itinerante... Ottawa: National Museum of Man,
National Museums of Canada, 1977.
Saila, Pitaloosie
PITALOOSIE SAILA TALKS ABOUT OLD AGE, HER FIRST DRAWING, WHITE
PEOPLE AND OTHER THINGS. Inuit Art Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 3,
Summer, 1987. pp.10-12.
Souchotte, Sandra
INUIT ART: A FANTASTIC ARCTIC SUCCESS STORY. Northwest
Explorer 4(4): 6-20, Autumn, 1985.
Speak, Dorothy
IN CAPE DORSET WE DO IT THIS WAY. Inuit Art Quarterly, Vol. 7,
No. 2, Spring 1992, pp. 38-42.
Van Raalte, Sharon
INUIT WOMEN AND THEIR ART. Communique, May 1975. p.21-23.
Verona. Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
IMMAGINARIO INUIT: ARTE E CULTURA DEGLI ESQUIMESICANADESI.
Commune di Verona: Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di
Palazzo Forti, 1995.
Wild, Marjorie
A WOMAN WHOSE VIEWS LOOK BEST IN PRINT. Hamilton, Ont. :
Hamilton Spectator, 1974.
(c) Inuit Art Section, INAC 1995 |
