Lot 306
Kenojuak Ashevak ᑭᓄᔭᐊ ᐊᓯᕗ, CC, RCA (1927-2013)
Provenance:
Private Collection, Toronto, ON
Note:
Beginning in the early 1960s, Kenojuak Ashevak introduced foliage to enhance her avian images, particularly in her portraits of owls. Owl’s Bouquet is a rare instance where Ashevak uses flowers as well. Inked with great verve by printmaker Qavavau Manumie, the jubilantly-coloured ombré petals and leaves are of particular interest.
When the Bank of Canada replicated Owl’s Bouquet on a commemorative $10 banknote in 2017 to mark Canada’s 150th Anniversary, this distinctive shading was carefully reproduced holographically in the transparent window of the bill. This use of Owl’s Bouquet marked the first time that work by an Inuit artist was used on a banknote, and only the second time that original visual art has been included. The Bank of Canada circulated 40 million of these banknotes alongside existing $10 bills. A studio proof is held in the Bank of Canada’s permanent collection.