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Legend of the Woman Who Turned into a Narwhal, c.1974

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona depicting a legend of a woman who transforms into a narwhal. It is divided into two diamond-shaped frames stacked on top of each other. Inside the top diamond is a scene of a woman with long, braided hair standing on a cliff edge with a narwhal in the water below her. Inside the bottom diamond, a large bird with its wings outstretched stands among other smaller birds. In the centre of the artwork, on either side of the diamond frames, are aquatic creatures with fins.

Pitseolak Ashoona, Legend of the Woman Who Turned into a Narwhal, c.1974, coloured felt-tip pen on paper, 66 x 50.7 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

Pitseolak occasionally drew on the legends she heard in her youth, particularly from her father. The scene in the upper part of the drawing depicts a critical moment in the story of the woman who became a narwhal. To escape her husband’s abuse, the woman jumps off a cliff; she does not die but is instead transformed into a narwhal. Pitseolak depicts the moment of transformation that saves the woman, with her long braid twisting into the tusk of a narwhal.

Gallery

Black and white pencil drawing by Pitseolak Ashoona of an Inuit woman wearing an amauti (a woman’s parka), an elaborate hairstyle with buns on each side of her head, and facial tattoos.

Tattooed Woman, 1960

Black and white pencil drawing by Pitseolak Ashoona depicting two Inuit artists wearing traditional clothing and holding up artworks on large sheets of paper. To the side is another figure, holding a bird by the neck, pointing at one of the artworks.

The Critic, c.1963

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of an Inuit woman in traditional clothing sitting on the ground and reaching up towards a group of flying white birds.

Untitled (Birds Flying Overhead), c.1966–67

Print of an illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of three Inuit men stacking stones to make an inukshuk (a stone marker). Three birds hover overhead.

Innukshuk Builders, 1968

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of the head and shoulders of an Inuit man who is facing forward. He has a mustache and short beard and is wearing a coat with a brown hood and yellow lining.

Portrait of Ashoona, c.1970

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona depicting a legend of a woman who transforms into a narwhal. It is divided into two diamond-shaped frames stacked on top of each other. Inside the top diamond is a scene of a woman with long, braided hair standing on a cliff edge with a narwhal in the water below her. Inside the bottom diamond, a large bird with its wings outstretched stands among other smaller birds. In the centre of the artwork, on either side of the diamond frames, are aquatic creatures with fins.

Legend of the Woman Who Turned into a Narwhal, c.1974

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of a busy outdoor scene. People and birds stand on multi-coloured brown hills while people below set up camp, sitting in a tent structure and arranging stones into rings for a fire pit.

Summer Camp Scene, c.1974

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of four Inuit women facing forward and wearing traditional parkas. In the centre, in a yellow parka, is a kneeling woman giving birth while another woman holds her up from behind.

Drawing for print Memories of Childbirth, 1976

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of a figure in a yellow parka sitting on a tall hill in front of a pile of stacked stones (likely a grave marker).

Untitled (Solitary Figure on the Landscape), c.1980

Black and white pencil drawing by Pitseolak Ashoona of an Inuit woman wearing an amauti (a woman’s parka), an elaborate hairstyle with buns on each side of her head, and facial tattoos.

Tattooed Woman, 1960

Black and white pencil drawing by Pitseolak Ashoona depicting two Inuit artists wearing traditional clothing and holding up artworks on large sheets of paper. To the side is another figure, holding a bird by the neck, pointing at one of the artworks.

The Critic, c.1963

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of an Inuit woman in traditional clothing sitting on the ground and reaching up towards a group of flying white birds.

Untitled (Birds Flying Overhead), c.1966–67

Print of an illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of three Inuit men stacking stones to make an inukshuk (a stone marker). Three birds hover overhead.

Innukshuk Builders, 1968

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of the head and shoulders of an Inuit man who is facing forward. He has a mustache and short beard and is wearing a coat with a brown hood and yellow lining.

Portrait of Ashoona, c.1970

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona depicting a legend of a woman who transforms into a narwhal. It is divided into two diamond-shaped frames stacked on top of each other. Inside the top diamond is a scene of a woman with long, braided hair standing on a cliff edge with a narwhal in the water below her. Inside the bottom diamond, a large bird with its wings outstretched stands among other smaller birds. In the centre of the artwork, on either side of the diamond frames, are aquatic creatures with fins.

Legend of the Woman Who Turned into a Narwhal, c.1974

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of a busy outdoor scene. People and birds stand on multi-coloured brown hills while people below set up camp, sitting in a tent structure and arranging stones into rings for a fire pit.

Summer Camp Scene, c.1974

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of four Inuit women facing forward and wearing traditional parkas. In the centre, in a yellow parka, is a kneeling woman giving birth while another woman holds her up from behind.

Drawing for print Memories of Childbirth, 1976

Illustration by Pitseolak Ashoona of a figure in a yellow parka sitting on a tall hill in front of a pile of stacked stones (likely a grave marker).

Untitled (Solitary Figure on the Landscape), c.1980

Legend of the Woman Who Turned into a Narwhal - Art Canada