The most important collection of Inuit art, the Cape Dorset Graphic Collection, will be sold through Waddington's in Toronto, Canada on May 6.

The complete collection holds an estimate of $400,000-450,000, and includes top Inuit artists such as Kenjuak Ashevak, Tudlike, Osuitok Ipeelee and Kananginak and Josephine Pootoogook.

The collection was formed in 1959, which was the first time the Inuit people has publicly offered graphic art for sale.

"People who had recently been nomadic hunters with exquisite powers of observation created an art form that opened a window to the wonder of the Inuit people and their land," commented auction house president, Duncan McLean.

"This collection represents one of the most nationally important movements in the history of Canadian art."