Bird Feeding on Tundra, c. 1980
by Daniel Inukpuk (b. 1942)
Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada
soapstone
9.5” high x 11” wide x 4” deep
Daniel Inukpuk was born near Inukjuak, Quebec, Canada in 1942. He was raised in Inukjuak (Port Harrison) where his family settled in the early 1950s, and where he lives today. Inukpuk's works have been included in numerous major exhibitions, and examples of his carvings and prints are in the permanent collections of several important museums including the National Gallery of Canada and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (which has three of his prints in its permanent collection and illustrated online).
Inukpuk's mediums include stone, stonecut and serigraph prints, and colored pencil and mixed media original drawings. His subjects include mother and child, portraits, figures, animals, shamans, history, legend, mythology, and images of traditional Inuit life.
Inukpuk began carving in the 1960s, and like many Inuit artists he is largely self-taught. His father Johnny Inukpuk was an important carver and Daniel likely learned from watching his father and other carvers. Daniel learned printmaking from Thomassie Echaluk and Lucassie Echalook. They were also collaborators with him on printing projects.
Inukpuk's works have been included in several important exhibitions such as "Eskimo Sculpture,” at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (1967), “Selections from the Toronto-Dominion Collection of Eskimo Art,” National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario (1976), and "The Inuit Print," at the National Museum of Man [now Canadian Museum of Civilization], Ottawa (1977 - 1982).
Inukpuk's works are in important private, public, and corporate collections including the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (Halifax), Canadian Museum of Civilization (Gatineau, Quebec), and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (Washington, D.C.)
