In 1983 Howard Isaacs opened the Innuit Gallery in the fashionable shopping district of Richmond Row in London Ontario. In collaboration with the Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art in Toronto, the gallery began its great love of Inuit and First Nations art. Exceptional pieces of Inuit sculpture and prints along with North American First Nations pottery, grass reed baskets, hand crafted jewellery and Hopi Kachina figures carved from cottonwood became the focal point of the gallery.
In 1985 the Innuit Gallery was granted the rights, by Dorset Fine Arts, to host the Cape Dorset Print Show. Clients from all over the world have dealt with the gallery in purchasing prints from this show. A strong knowledge base in identifying exceptional works of art by various Inuit artists has allowed the Innuit Gallery to serve and meet the needs of one time buyers, corporate clients and the most serious collector of Inuit art. In October 2009 the gallery was honoured by Dorset Fine Arts to be a key participant in the historic 50th anniversary of the Cape Dorset Print Show in recognition of its committed and on going excellence.
A great gallery requires a great location that is highly visible to the public and in 1988 the gallery moved to its present location 201 Queens Ave. allowing the extraordinary large window space to showcase the works of Inuit and First Nations artists.
In addition to hosting the Annual Cape Dorset Show since 1985, the Innuit Gallery has mounted many significant exhibitions including:
We have also had the privilege of showcasing 2 private collections from the 1950s and 1960s of major Inuit sculpture.
In 1993 Janet Evans and Ann Jenkins became full partners in the gallery with Ann retiring in 2010. As a team, Janet and Howard have included the services of sculpture and print restoration and evaluating collections of Inuit art from estates, corporations, museums and individual clients. During its 28 years the Innuit Gallery has gained a reputation of outstanding service in providing its clients the opportunity to own high quality pieces of First Nations or Inuit art at exceptional value.
We continually work to ensure that the personal service provided to our clients by the Innuit Gallery is second to none.
Sincerely,
Howard Isaacs · Janet Evans