Koomwartok Ashoona Art for Sale at Auction

b. 1930 - d. 1984

KOOMWARTOK ASHOONA (KUMWARTOK; KOOMWATOOK; KOOMORATUK; KOMWARTOK;
KOAWARKTOO; KUMORTOK)
Born: October 10, 1930 Male E7-1102
Died: April 22, 1984
Resided: Cape Dorset
Sculpture
Koomwartok was the son of graphic artist Pitseolak Ashoona of Cape Dorset.
His brothers are Cape Dorset sculptors Kaka and Kiawak Ashoona. Koomwartok's
wife, Mary Koomwartok Ashoona, and his son, Salomonie Ashoona, are sculptors
in Cape Dorset.

EXHIBITIONS:
1967 Eskimo Sculpture
Winnipeg Art Gallery
presented at the Manitoba Legislative
Building
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
Jan - Feb 1967 Cape Dorset - A Decade of Eskimo
Prints & Recent Sculpture
National Gallery of Canada,
in cooperation with the Canadian
Eskimo Art Committee
Ottawa, Ontario
(tour)
(illustrated catalogue)
April - May 1967 Carvings and Prints by the Family
of Pitseolak
Robertson Galleries
Ottawa, Ontario
Aug - Sep 1968 Eskimo Sculpture, Eskimo Prints and
Paintings of Norval Morrisseau
Art Association of Newport
Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)
Sep - Nov 1969 The Eskimo
Museum of Fine Arts
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
(illustrated catalogue)

Sep - Oct 1971 Eskimo Carvings and Prints from the
Collection of York University
Art Gallery of York University
Downsview, Ontario
(illustrated catalogue)
1975 Cape Dorset - Selected Sculpture from the
Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(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)
October 1978 Kiawak, Kumwartok, Kaka:
The Sons of Pitseolak Ashoona - Cape Dorset
The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
Toronto, Ontario
(illustrated brochure)
March - April 1979 Sculpture of the Inuit: Lorne Balshine
Collection/Lou Osipov Collection/
Dr. Harry Winrob Collection
Surrey Art Gallery
Surrey, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
March - April 1979 Canadian Eskimo Art: a representative
exhibition from the collection of Professor
and Mrs. Philip Gray
Fine Arts Gallery, Montana State
University
Bozeman, Montana, U.S.A.
(catalogue)

Nov - Dec 1979 In Celebration
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
Montreal, Quebec
Nov 1979 - Jan 1980 Cape Dorset Sculpture
Signature Shop
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
December 1979 The Eskimo World in Carving
Signature Shop
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
January - March 1980 Cape Dorset
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated catalogue)
September 1981 The Year of the Bear
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Sept - Oct 1981 The Jacqui and Morris Shumiatcher
Collection of Inuit Art
Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery,
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
(illustrated catalogue)
Oct - Nov 1981 The Inuit Sea Goddess
Surrey Art Gallery,
(organized to complement the Musee
des beaux-arts de Montreal exhibit
of the same name)
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
March - April 1982 Songs in Stone
The Arctic Circle
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

Oct - Dec 1982 Collector's Choice: 1965-1980
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
March - April 1984 Heritage of the Inuit: Masterpieces
of the Eskimo
Colorado Galleries of the Arts,
Arapahoe Community College
Littleton, Colorado, U.S.A.
December 1985 Masterwork Sculpture 1985
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
July 1986 Baffin Island Sculpture
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
Jun - Sep 1988 Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art
from the Collection
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
February - June 1991 Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture
Exhibition (first exhibition)
Vancouver Inuit Art Society
Vancouver, British Columbia
April - July 1993 Multiple Realities: Inuit Images of
Shamanic Transformation
Winnipeg Art Gallery
Winnipeg, Manitoba
(illustrated brochure)
Sept - Nov 1993 The Bear: Sculpture
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

July 1994 Arctic Spirit
35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art
Frye Art Museum
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Jan - Feb 1995 The Collector's Eye
Inuit Art from Private Collections
Albers Gallery
San Francisco, California, USA
(illustrated brochure)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
April - May 1980 Sculpture by Kumwartok Ashoona
Image of the Inuit
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
November 1980 Kumwartok Ashoona: Sculpture
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
Montreal, Quebec
May 1983 The Mysterious World of Komwartok Ashoona
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Vancouver, British Columbia
(illustrated catalogue)
COLLECTIONS:
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario
Art Gallery of York University, Downsview, Ontario
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, Montreal, Quebec
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec
Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.A.
Inuit Cultural Institute, Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories
Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge, Alberta
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
HONOURS, ACHIEVEMENTS and EVENTS:
1980 Pierre Trudeau presented British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
with a piece by Ashoona.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
CANADIAN GUILD OF CRAFTS QUEBEC. = GUILDE CANADIENNE DES METIERS
D'ART QUEBEC: The Permanent Collection: Inuit Arts and Crafts,
c. 1900-1980. Montreal: Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, 1980.
Gillmor, Alison
THE ASHOONA FAMILY OF CAPE DORSET. Inuit Art Quarterly, 10(2)
Summer 1995, pp. 38-39.
Inuit Art Collection
CAPE DORSET: Sculptors and their Sculpture. Manchester, Conn.:
The Inuit Art Collection, 1981.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
Baffin Island Sculpture. Vancouver, B.C. : Inuit Gallery, 1986.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
COLLECTOR'S CHOICE: 1965 - 1980. Vancouver: Inuit Gallery, l982.
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF KOOMWARTOK ASHOONA. Vancouver: The
Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1983.
Jackson, Marion E.
THE ASHOONAS OF CAPE DORSET: In Touch with Tradition.
North/Nord, vol. 29, no. 3, Fall, 1982. pp.14-18.

National Gallery of Canada
CAPE DORSET: A Decade of Eskimo Prints and Recent Sculpture =
Dix ans d'estampes esquimaudes et sculptures recentes. Ottawa:
The National Gallery of Canada, 1967.
Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery
THE JACQUI AND MORRIS SHUMIATCHER COLLECTION OF INUIT ART.
Regina: The Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1981.
Surrey Art Gallery
THE INUIT SEA GODDESS. Surrey: The Surrey Art Gallery, 1981.
Swinton, George
ESKIMO SCULPTURE. = SCULPTURE ESQUIMAUDE. Toronto: McClelland
and Stewart, 1965.
Swinton, George
MULTIPLE REALITIES: Inuit Images of Shamanic Transformation.
Inuit Art Quarterly: Vol. 8, No. 4, Winter, 1993, pp. 43-47.
Wight, Darlene
BUILDING ON STRENGTHS: New Inuit Art from the Collection.
Tableau, vol. 1, no.5, 1988. p.4.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
CAPE DORSET. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1979.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
CAPE DORSET: Selected Sculpture from the Collection of the
Winnipeg Art Gallery. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1975.
Winnipeg Art Gallery
ESKIMO SCULPTURE. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1967.
York University. Art Gallery
ESKIMO CARVINGS AND PRINTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF YORK
UNIVERSITY. Toronto, Ont., Art Gallery of York University, 1971.