Anna Kingwatsiak

Anna Kingwatsiak was born in 1911 in a camp near Kimmirut on the south shore of Baffin Island, in what is now Nunavut. She was the oldest child in an artistic family; several of her siblings also became accomplished artists, including Keeleemeeoomee Samualie, Iyola, Tye Adla, and Mikigak Kingwatsiak. In the 1930s, her family moved closer to Kinngait (Cape Dorset), but Kingwatsiak, who had already married, remained in Kimmirut. After her husband died from tuberculosis in 1961, she moved to Kinngait to be closer to her sisters.

Kingwatsiak produced drawings depicting Inuit imagery and scenes of daily life. Many of her drawings were made into prints by the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative. She also designed printed home textiles during the 1950s and 1960s as part of an effort to develop a commercial market for the co-operative's work. She died in 1971. Her work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, and the Art Gallery of Guelph.