The Arctic Circle was founded in Los Angeles in 1970 as a private art gallery devoted entirely to the exhibition and sale of scupltures and graphics by Inuit artists of the Canadian arctic. Between 1970 and the late 1980's approximately six to eight exhibitions were mounted on themes illustrative of native life in the Canadian arctic. The gallery was created and founded by Bert and Ellen Witt and run out of their home on North La Jolla Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Bert Witt, sometimes accompanied by his wife Ellen and son Tony, traveled extensively in the Canadian arctic visiting many Inuit communities and forming personal aquaintances with native artists. Through the Artic Circle, Witt supported the Arctic co-operative movement by purchasing art through co-ops in each settlement he visited or through the co-op distribution points for the Northwest Territories and Arctic Quebec.
From the guide to the The Arctic Circle records, bulk 1971-1986, 1967-1987, (National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center)
