Inuit Art at the McMichael Canadian Art-Collection d’Art Canadien
The McMichael Canadian Art Collection d’Art Canadien in Kleinburg (Ontario, Canada) is devoted to collection and exhibiting only Canadian art, including First Nations and Inuit art. The McMichael’s Inuit Art Collection is a major public resource that attracts researchers on Inuit art and culture, committed collectors and art galleries.
The Inuit art collection of the McMichael includes paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures created in the Canadian Arctic, using many different materials and individual styles. The gallery’s permanent collection is supplemented by the long loan of 100 000 drawings, prints and sculptures from the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative Ltd, based in Kinngait (Baffin Island, Nunavut).
A current exhibition is devoted to Inuit art entitled « Kenojuak : From drawing to print », until November 30, 2008. This event examines Kenojuak’s involvement with the Kinngait printing program by comparing a selection of the artist’s drawings to their subsequent prints. Focusing on the collaborative relationship between artist and printmaker, this exhibition contains 11 drawings and 11 prints realized by Kenojuak.
« Kenojuak, like most Inuit graphic artists, relies on the considerable skills of print shop staff to transfer her drawings into prints. At times, changes made to the original drawing compositions are minimal, but during the early 1970s, extensive changes were made, particularly in the use of color and markings. » notes Shana White, Mc Michael’s Assistant Curator who curated the exhibition.
The McMichael proposed recently an exhibition focussed on the early experiment in printmaking launched in the winter of 1957 and on the resultant small series of prints by a dozen artists in 1958. This exhibition was entitled « Saumik : James Houston’s legacy».
The McMichael officially opened in July of 1966, in Kleinburg (Ontario, Canada). Formerly, private collectors built their art collection dedicated to Canadian artists when they started purchasing in 1955 the artworks of Lawren Harris, Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and their contemporary. Other the years, the collection has continued to grow including First Nations and Inuit art; expending now through purchases and donations from private and corporate art collectors.
