George E. Marcus
I bought my first Inuit carving, by Leah Qumaluk (1934–2010), at the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal, QC. I was fascinated by it and by the accompanying government produced promotional brochure on “Eskimo Art” (which I also still have). The following summer, I visited various parts of Canada, starting in Vancouver, BC, which brought me to the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) where I met Mrs. Bell, then head of the gallery store. This led to several purchases from the VAG, followed by yet more additions, including prints, largely from Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU, artists, including Lucy Qinnuayuak (1915–1982), Kenojuak Ashevak, CC, ON, RCA (1927–2013) and Parr (1893–1969), as well as Jessie Oonark, OC, RCA (1906–1985) based in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), NU. Later, a visit to the Arctic enabled me to meet Pauta Saila, RCA (1916–2009). One of my favourite works in my collection is a piece by Lucy Tasseor Tutsweetok (1934–2012) that was included in Norman Zepp’s exhibition Pure Vision: Masterworks of the Keewatin (1986). When IAQ began, I added it to my growing collection of books and exhibition catalogues. I find this archive still vividly inspiring, and I’ve got the complete collection of the IAQ on the shelf in the den. What I like most are the evaluative stories—what an artist is up to, what they’ve done and how their work has evolved. I think we’ve largely run out of wall space and places for carvings, but it remains difficult to turn away from something that brings life along with it. I subscribe because I want to support, if ever so modestly, the community of Inuit artists.