Untitled
17 x 20 in (43.2 x 50.8 cm) including frame
Provenance:
The Jerry Litman Collection, Kenora;
By descent to present Private Collection, Winnipeg
As a resident of Kenora and later Winnipeg, Dr. Jerry Litman (1928 - 2020) brought a genuine excitement to collecting works of Indigenous art that reflected the communities in which he worked. Dr. Litman practiced as a dentist in remote areas of Ontario and Manitoba where there was limited access to dental services, and worked with Indigenous communities in these areas.
It was through this work that Litman encountered many remarkable artists, including Josh Kakegamic and Norval Morrisseau. With an eye for quality and a love for this flourishing art movement, Dr. Litman collected over 250 paintings by First Nations and Inuit artists.
Much of the Litman collection has been dispersed among museums and university collections close to the family's heart, notably the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and "The Muse" - Douglas Family Art Centre in Kenora.
Goyce Kakegamic
Goyce Kakegamic is a Cree painter, printmaker, and community leader born in 1948 at Sandy Lake First Nation, Ontario. His sister married Ojibwe artist Norval Morrisseau, who encouraged the teenage Goyce and his brother Joshim to try painting. Both brothers were self-taught and were further mentored by Cree artist Carl Ray, as well as Jackson Beardy, Alex Janvier, and Daphne Odjig. By the early 1970s, both had become professional artists.
After learning printmaking techniques at Open Studio in Toronto, Kakegamic and his brothers Joshim and Henry established the Triple K Cooperative, a silkscreening company in Red Lake, Ontario, in 1973. The company was modelled after Daphne Odjig's Indian Prints of Canada Ltd. and was intended to allow Indigenous artists to represent themselves on their own terms. Triple K produced limited edition silkscreen prints designed specifically for the medium, with artists involved in the printing process. The cooperative represented artists including Morrisseau, Saul Williams, and Barry and Paddy Peters, and operated for ten years. During the 1970s and 1980s, Kakegamic also worked as a school counsellor in Red Lake.
Kakegamic's work is associated with the Woodland School and draws on spiritual imagery, symbolism, and Ojibwe legends. In 1970, his work was included in a touring exhibition of Woodland art in England and Germany. In 1974, he and Joshim held a two-person exhibition at Aggregation Gallery in Toronto. His work is held in the collections of the Canadian Museum of History and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Kakegamic continues to paint and serves as Deputy Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation. He lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
