Inukshuk | Ken Kirkby
Oil on Canvas
Size: 30" by 36"
Price: SOLD
Details: Signed lower right.
Framed: Black and grey wood frame, measures 36" by 42.5"
Provenance: Private Collection
Additional Information and Photos Available Upon Request
Ken Kirkby is known for iconic Canadian paintings
and his efforts to conserve our country’s natural heritage
Biography
Ken Kirkby was born in England and raised in Spain and Portugal.
After moving to Canada at age 18, Ken Kirkby lived in the Arctic for 5 years, travelling extensively, living among the Inuit and recording his sights in drawings.
Ken Kirkby is a self-taught artist who fell in love with the Canadian landscape, particularly the Arctic and Canada’s West Coast, especially British Columbia where he now lives.
Among his iconic Canadian subjects is the Inukshuk. Ken Kirkby painted in finely executed oil a series of Inukshuks against a variety of Arctic skies, many showing a showering of light.
Other Canadian scenes proudly highlight the Canadian flag, West Coast totem poles and Canada’s remote landscapes: wind-beaten trees, mountain ranges, rocky beaches, isolated and barren islands, as well as wildlife.
Commission for Parliament Building
Ken Kirkby is also known as a painter who thinks and paints large. Many of his canvases stretch to fill rooms.
Ken Kirkby is also known for the painting “Isumataq”, which measured 12 feet high by 152 feet long. A portion of the painting was unveiled in the Canadian Parliament building in 1992.
Ken Kirkby, who lives in Bowser, B.C., on the west coast of Vancouver Island, is known as a fierce advocate for conservation of Canada’s natural heritage. He has spoken about conservation to groups across Canada, and has donated artworks to raise money for preservation efforts.
Ken Kirkby solo shows have included the Museum of Nature and Ontario Place (both 1993).
Ken Kirkby’s iconic Canadian works are held in numerous public, corporate and private collections, including the Royal Family of Britain.
Suggested Reading:
- Vespers: Poetry by Manolis, Paintings by Ken Kirkby (2010, Libros Libertad Publishing)
- Ken Kirkby: A Painter’s Quest for Canada, by Goody Niosi (2011, Libros Libertad Publishing).
- Mythography: Paintings by Ken Kirkby and Friends, Poetry by Manolis (2012, Libros Libertad Publishing)
- Ken Kirkby: Warrior Painter, by Patricia Fraser, (2013, Libros Libertad Publishing).
Sources: Various.
