Eleeshushe Parr

1896–1975

Eleeshushe Parr (1896–1975) was a graphic artist from Kinngait (Cape Dorset), Nunavut. Eleeshushe began drawing in the early 1960s during the formative years of printmaking in Kinngait. Her work depicts scenes of daily life in her Inuit community, with a special interest in the relationships between people and animals. Eleeshushe occasionally produced stone carvings, and she was recognized in her community for her ability to sew traditional skin garments with inset patterns and her design sensibility. Over the course of her lifetime, Eleeshushe produced over 1,160 drawings and was included in the Annual Cape Dorset Print Collection from 1966 to 1970.

The early years of Eleeshushe’s life were spent living a semi-nomadic lifestyle moving between seasonal hunting camps. In 1961, Eleeshushe’s husband, Parr, was growing weak with age, and he suffered from frostbite which led to the partial amputation of his right foot. No longer able to hunt, Eleeshushe and Parr moved their family to Kinngait. Parr was also a graphic artist and together the pair had nine children, both biological and adopted. Their children Nuna, Eepervik, and Quvianatuliak Parr, as well as their grandson Peter Parr are all artists.

Eleeshushe’s work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States, and Sweden in exhibitions such as In Cape Dorset We Do it This Way: Three Decades of Inuit Printmaking at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection from 1991 to 1992. Her work can be found in collections at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, the Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, and the Musée des beaux-arts de Montreal, among others.

Artworks

Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)
Eleeshushe Parr
(1896)
(1975)