KANANGINAK POOTOOGOOK, R.C.A. (1935-2010) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Walrus on Ice, 1958 (Experimental Collection)
Printmaker: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)*
stonecut, 9 x 11 in (22.9 x 27.9 cm), framed
a proof [?] from the edition of 30.
*According to Sandra Barz, Joanassie Salamonie believes Iyola was the printer.

Provenance
Collection of John and Joyce Price, Seattle.

James Houston, who had mused about starting a printmaking program in Cape Dorset as early as 1955, initiated experiments with block printing on fabrics in 1956, and gift cards in early 1957. “Fine art” printmaking experiments began with Osuitok Ipeelee (see lot 7) and other artists such Kananginak, Lukta Qiatsuk, and Iyola Kingwatsiak in earnest in late 1957. This charming print by Kananginak is part of an experimental set of about twenty, thirteen of which were offered for sale through the Hudson’s Bay Company department store in 1958 to positive reviews in the Winnipeg Free Press. In Walrus on Ice, Kananginak portrays the bodies of the animals as simplified, bulging shapes. Taking this idea one step further, he shows the basking walruses reflected in the water, creating an interesting mirror image bifurcated by the horizontal water line. Kananginak would, of course, become famous for his highly naturalistic renditions of Arctic wildlife.

References: For information on the experimental years of printmaking in Dorset, see Jean Blodgett, In Cape Dorset We Do it This Way, (Kleinberg, ON: McMichael Canadian Art Foundation, 1991), pp 13-14 and 23. see: Norman Vorano, Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration, (Gatineau: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2011), p. 6ff.