Travelling with Thunderbird
38 x 32 in (96.5 x 81.3 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.
Josh Kakegamic
1952 - 1993
Born in 1952 in Sandy Lake, Josh Kakegamic enjoyed early and extensive contact with brother-in-law Norval Morrisseau and with Carl Ray. Josh Kakegamic studied with Ray and Morrisseau during their tour of northern reserves. Josh Kakegamic had his first group show in 1969 and presented a solo workshop at Fanshawe College. In 1973 Josh Kakegamic and his brothers Goyce and Henry started the Triple K Co-operative, a silkscreen operation based in Red Lake. By 1975 Josh Kakegamic was being shown at Aggregation Gallery in Toronto, which still handled Ray’s work. While Josh Kakegamic’s predecessors invented and refined the pictographic style, Josh Kakegamic was weaned on it, and rapidly perfected the vocabulary. He was a painter of technical virtuosity and an innovator in the field of Indian print production. Josh Kakegamic died tragically in 1993 while on a rescue mission.
More work by Josh Kakegamic
