Napachie Pootoogook facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Napachie Pootoogook
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| ᓇᐸᓯ ᐳᑐᒍ | |
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| Born |
Napachie Ashoona
June 26, 1938 Sarruq Island camp, Northwest Territories
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| Died | December 18, 2002 (aged 64) Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada
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| Nationality | Canadian (Inuit) |
| Known for | printmaking, drawing |
Napachie Pootoogook (born June 26, 1938 – died December 18, 2002) was a talented Canadian Inuit artist. She was known for her amazing drawings and prints.
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Life and Family
Napachie Pootoogook was the only daughter of a famous artist named Pitseolak Ashoona. Napachie was born in a camp on Sarruq Island, near Baffin Island. Her father, Ashoona, passed away when she was about six or seven years old. After his death, Napachie, her mother, and her five brothers lived a traditional Inuit way of life. They moved from place to place, relying on their community for support.
When Napachie was in her early twenties, her mother encouraged her to start drawing. She soon developed her own special way of creating art. Her brothers, Kiugak and Qaqaq Ashoona, became well-known sculptors. Also, two of her sisters-in-law, Mayureak and Sorosiluto Ashoona, were also graphic artists.
In the mid-1950s, Napachie had an arranged marriage with Eegyvudluk Pootoogook. He was an Inuit printmaker and carver. Napachie was a bit unsure about an arranged marriage because of what she had seen in her parents' marriage. They got married in Kaiktuuq, Nunavut. Later, they moved to Cape Dorset, where they lived for most of their lives. They did spend two years living in Iqaluit. Napachie and her husband had eleven children, but sadly, several of them died young.
Their surviving daughter, Annie Pootoogook, also became an important contemporary Inuit artist. She was known for her prints and drawings, continuing the family's artistic tradition. Napachie also became a grandmother to many grandchildren. Napachie Pootoogook only spoke and wrote in Inuktitut.
Her Artworks
Napachie Pootoogook started drawing in her early twenties, with her mother's encouragement. Like many Inuit artists, she took her drawings to the Kinngait Co-operative in Cape Dorset. This place would buy artworks and offered art classes. Napachie sold her first drawings for $20 when she was twenty-five years old. She continued to draw and make prints until she passed away. She created more than 5,000 original artworks during her lifetime. Her art was included in fourteen Cape Dorset print collections. It has also been shown in many books about Inuit art since the 1960s.
What Inspired Her Art
Much of Napachie Pootoogook's early art showed traditional Inuit beliefs and stories. In the 1970s, she began to use her art to show how Inuit people lived and what they wore a long time ago. She also drew about local history. The drawings she made later in her life told stories from her own life and from her ancestors, going back two generations. Some of these later artworks showed the challenges faced by her people.
How She Created Her Art
Napachie Pootoogook mainly used acrylic paints, black felt-tipped pens, or pencil crayons for her drawings. Her artistic style changed after she took classes in acrylic painting and drawing workshops in 1976. After these classes, her art started to include more landscapes. She also began to use "Western ideas of how to arrange things in a picture." Later in her career, when she drew events from her life, Napachie tried out figure drawing and lithography. Figure drawing is drawing human shapes, and lithography is a special way of making prints.
Artistic Career
Art Shows and Exhibitions
Napachie Pootoogook's art was shown in many places.
- In 1979, her work was part of an exhibition called "Images of the Inuit from the Fraser Collection" at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.
- In 1981, her art was shown in Rome, Italy, at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna. It was also part of a traveling show called "Arctic Vision: Art of the Canadian Inuit."
- In 1999, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection had a special show called "Three Women, Three Generations." This exhibition featured drawings by Napachie, her mother Pitseolak Ashoona, and her daughter Shuvinai Ashoona.
- In 2005, her work was shown alongside her daughter Annie Pootoogook's art in Toronto, Ontario. This exhibition was called "Windows on Kinngait." It was the first time their art was shown together outside of Cape Dorset.
- In 2016, Napachie Pootoogook's art was part of an exhibition called "Akunnittinni: A Kinngait Family Portrait." This show also included her mother Pitseolak Ashoona and daughter Annie Pootoogook.
Where Her Art is Kept
Napachie Pootoogook's artworks are kept in the permanent collections of many museums. These include:
- The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
- The Glenbow Museum in Calgary
- The Museum of Anthropology at UBC in Vancouver
- The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
- The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto
- The Winnipeg Art Gallery
- The Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa
- The University of Michigan Museum of Art
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Throat Singing
Besides being a great artist, Napachie Pootoogook was also a very talented throat singer. Throat singing is a unique type of singing. A 1993 documentary called Quanak & Napachie showed Napachie Pootoogook's throat singing. It also showed her performing in Ottawa for a Canada Day celebration. Her throat singing was also featured in the film Glory & Honor.
Death and Legacy
Napachie Pootoogook passed away from cancer in Cape Dorset when she was 64 years old. Her art is still part of many important collections today. These include the Inuit Art Centre, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Canadian Museum of History, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the National Gallery of Canada. Her work is also held in private and public collections in Canada and the United States.
