Search
Skip to main content
The Isuwiq Madonna

The Isuwiq Madonna

Artist/Maker (American, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Alaska Native, b. 1959)
Date2021
MediumOil on panel
DimensionsOverall: 24 × 24 × 1 in. (61 × 61 × 2.5 cm)
Frame: 26 3/8 × 26 3/8 × 2 1/2 in. (67 × 67 × 6.4 cm)
Credit LineOberlin Friends of Art Fund
Object number2021.15
Status
Not on view
Copyright© Linda Infante LyonsMore Information
Isuwiq is the word for seal in Alutiiq—the language of the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, one of eight groups of Indigenous Alaskans. Lyons brings her Indigenous traditions into dialogue with the Christian format of a Madonna holding Jesus in her lap—known as sedes sapientiae, or seat of wisdom. Lyons has painted variations featuring a bear, snowy owl, and other animals significant to Alutiiq life.
ProvenanceLinda Infante Lyons [b. 1959], Anchorage, AK: purchased 2021 by Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OHExhibition History
Anthropocene Aesthetics
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 19, 2023 - December 12, 2023 )
Collections
  • Modern & Contemporary
The AMAM continually researches its collection and updates its records with new findings.
We welcome additional information and suggestions for improvement. Please email us at AMAMcurator@oberlin.edu.