This is a signed acrylic painting by the Canadian First Nations artist Joshim Kakegamic (1952 - 1993). It comes framed with a new window mount.
I have previously removed the artwork from the frame and note that it has been titled on the back "Lazy Bear", as photographed. And it has been painted on a textured board called Peterboro Cardboard - the stamp for this board is printed on the back as photographed. This mount board was, and continues to be, produced and marketed in Canada - so this also fits in with this being an original Kakegamic painting. There is also a printed number 360 (perhaps a series or issue number?) and some scribbles done in blue biro pen.
It is signed with the artist's distinctive signature.
It is an original artwork - and not a print by Kakegamic - there are little tiny losses of paint near the bear's eye - and I can also see some pencil under-drawing on the composition. These are not details that you would find on a printed image.
It is not dated - but I am assuming on stylistic basis that it dates to the late 1970s. The study of the strange bear is typcial of his work - and it has been signed.
The image size is 34 x 47.5. The frame size is 47 x 62 cm.
HISTORY: Joshim Kakegamic (1952-1993) was an integral part of the Woodlands School and from the generation of Woodlands artists in the 1960s. He was born of Cree ancestry at Sandy Lake in Ontario. He began painting as a teenager in the late sixties under the guidance of his Ojibwa brother-in-law, Norval Morrisseau, and Cree artist, Carl Ray who were holding workshops on local reserves at the time. When they began holding demonstration classes in schools across northeastern and southern Ontario Kakegamic went along as an assistant.
In 1969, he participated in a group show in North Bay followed by a series of shows in various venues in northwestern Ontario. He continued to paint in North Bay for two years before returning to Sandy Lake. In the 1970s and 1980s, he took part in a number of exhibitions throughout Ontario, other sites in Canada, as well as in a group show "Woodland Indian Art Exhibition" at Canada House in London, England
Tragically, Kakegamic drowned in 1993 while attempting a rescue on a lake in Northern Ontario.
Kakegamic was both a talented and prolific artist, creating a compelling and pioneering body of work that was uniquely stylized in the midst of what had become a modern Indigenous art movement.
His work does not come up for sale that often in the UK - and there are many galleries in Canada where his work is featured or offered for sale. His work is in prestigious private and public collections in Canada and abroad including Simon Fraser University Art Center, the McMichael Canadian Collection, The Royal Ontario Museum and others.
UK Postage of the framed work will be £24.95 with Parcelforce24 - this is to include insurance in transit.