Inuit artist Ashevak dead at 85

CAPE DORSET, Nunavut - An artist whose work became a worldwide icon of the Canadian Arctic has died.

Kenojuak Ashevak (kehn-OH'-joo-ack ASH'-uh-vack), one of the first generation of Inuit printmakers, died Tuesday at her home in Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

She was 85.

Born in 1927 on south Baffin Island, she lived a traditional life on the land before moving to the tiny community of Cape Dorset.

Her work has been featured in galleries around the world and has been used on Canadian postage stamps.

She was a member of the Order of Canada and the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and was the subject of several film documentaries and biographies.

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