Tips on How to Purchase and Purchase Genuine Canadian Inuit Art (Eskimo Art) Sculptures

Many visitors to Canada will be exposed to Inuit art (Eskimo art) sculptures while exploring the country. These are the spectacular handmade sculptures carved from stone by the Inuit artists residing in the northern Arctic regions of Canada. While in some of the significant Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City) or other tourist locations popular with worldwide visitors such as Banff, Inuit sculptures will be seen at various retail stores and showed at some museums. Considering that Inuit art has been getting more and more international exposure, people may be seeing this Canadian art form at museums and galleries situated outside Canada too. As a result, it will be natural for lots of tourists and art collectors to choose that they want to purchase Inuit sculptures as good keepsakes for their homes or as extremely special presents for others. Presuming that the objective is to get an genuine piece of Inuit art instead of a cheap tourist imitation, the concern emerges on how does one differentiate the genuine thing from the phonies?

It would be pretty disappointing to bring home a piece just to discover later that it isn't genuine and even made in Canada. If one is lucky enough to be taking a trip in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific art work, then it can be safely presumed that any Inuit art piece purchased from a regional northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be authentic. One would have to be more careful in other places in Canada, particularly in tourist areas where all sorts of other Canadian mementos such as tee shirts, hockey jerseys, postcards, key chains, maple syrup, and other Native Canadian arts are sold.

The most safe places to buy Inuit sculptures to ensure authenticity are always the trustworthy galleries that focus on Canadian Inuit art and Eskimo art. Some of these galleries have advertisements in the city tour guide found in hotels.

Credible Inuit art galleries are also listed in Inuit Art Quarterly magazine which is devoted totally to Inuit art. When one walks into these galleries, one will see that there more will be just Inuit art and possibly Native art however none of the other usual tourist keepsakes such as postcards or tee shirts . The Inuit sculpture may be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics but not all genuine pieces are signed.

Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase authentic Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world. In addition to these street retail specialty galleries, there are now credible online galleries that likewise specialize in authentic Inuit art.

Some tourist shops do carry authentic Inuit art as well as the other touristy keepsakes in order to cater to all types of tourists. Authentic Inuit sculpture is carved from stone and for that reason needs to have some weight or mass to it. An authentic Inuit sculpture is a one of a kind piece of artwork and nothing else on the store shelves will look precisely like it.

This can be a genuine gray area to those unfamiliar with authentic Inuit art. If a seller declares that such as piece is genuine, ask to see the official Igloo tag that comes with it which will have information on the artist, area where it was made and the year it was sculpted. The authentic pieces with the accompanying authorities Igloo tags will always be the greatest priced and are typically kept in a separate ( maybe even locked) shelf within the shop.


Considering that Inuit art has been getting try this more and more international exposure, people might be seeing this Canadian fine art type at galleries and museums located outside Canada Kurt Criter Denver too. If one is lucky enough to be traveling in the Canadian Arctic where the Inuit live and make their terrific artwork, then it can be securely assumed that any Inuit art piece bought from a local northern store or straight from an Inuit carver would be genuine. Respectable Inuit art galleries are likewise listed in Inuit Art Quarterly publication which is dedicated entirely to Inuit art. The Inuit sculpture might be signed by the carver either in English or Inuit syllabics however not all authentic pieces are signed. Some of these Inuit art galleries also have sites so you could shop and purchase genuine Inuit art sculpture from home anywhere in the world.