Kenojuak Ashevak

Born in an igloo at Ikerrasak camp, Kenojuak lived a traditional nomadic hunting life until tuberculosis forced her into a Quebec City sanatorium for three years. In the late 1950s, she joined the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative at Cape Dorset, producing bold pencil drawings.

Her 1960 masterpiece, The Enchanted Owl, with its hypnotic radiating red and black plumage, captivated the international art world. Over fifty years, Kenojuak created thousands of prints, stained-glass windows, and tapestries, honored as a Companion of the Order of Canada and Governor General's Award laureate.