Throughout the Canadian Arctic, the motif of the “mother and child” reign with an enduring charm and allure. Portrayals of the mother and child go beyond idyllic images of maternal love to illuminate the pivotal role of women both in their immediate family and in their communities. In Western art, the mother and child motif conjures images of the Madonna and Christ Child from Christian stories. While the title of this print directly acknowledges this association, in the Arctic, artists—many of whom are mothers— infuse this timeless theme with a secular yet equally sacred quality. In Arctic Madonna, the portrayal extends the theme of motherhood beyond the confines of personal kinship, embracing a broader sense of nurturing and femininity associated with the notion of “mother earth.” Flanking the woman and her child are two young owls that, as described by Pitaloosie, peek out from behind their maternal protector “like shy children” [1]. The colour palette of the print seems to be drawn from the very essence of the land itself, creating a further parallel between the the scene and the life-giving force of nature: the tans and browns mimic the earth, while the soft beiges could be seen as the wide expanses of the tundra.

1. Wight, Creation and Transformation, 2012, p. 138

Reproduced: This image, in addition to being on the cover of Barbara Lipton, Arctic Vision: Art of the Canadian Inuit, (Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers with the assistance of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1984) is also reproduced in Inuit Arts and Crafts, No. 2, Dec 1984, fig. 86, p. 62; Odette Leroux, Marion E. Jackson and Minnie Aodla Freeman, ed., Inuit Women Artists: Voices from Cape Dorset, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Gatineau: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1994), p. 170 and in Darlene Coward Wight, Creation and Transformation: Defining Moments in Inuit Art, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2012), cat., pl. 66, p. 138.