Hawk In Winter Darkness
Kananginak Pootoogook
InuitLithograph
22' x 30'

Hawk In Winter Darkness (1988)

Kananginak Pootoogook (1935 - 2010)
Inuit

Lithograph, #62/70
22" x 30"

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Kananginak Pootoogook RCA, was born in 1935 at Ikirasaq, NU, a small hunting camp on southern Baffin Island. Son of the well-respected camp leader Josephie Pootoogook, Kananginak grew up in a traditional Inuit family and was raised to be a hunter and trapper. Inuit values, beliefs and ways of life hence become important themes in his art. In the late 1950s he settled in Kinngait (Cape Dorset), NU and quickly became known for his drawings and prints through the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative (WEBC) print program.

Pootoogook became the first spokesperson of the WBEC and eventually became president of the Board of Directors. He believed printmaking and the graphic arts program in Kinngait provided opportunities for Inuit to create and establish new economic opportunities.Besides excelling as a printmaker, he created vivid, documentary-style drawings.

His creations have been exhibited in many major galleries and museums around the world and are a part of numerous collections. Most recently, his work was included in the 57th Venice Biennale, which opened in May 2017. Pootoogook was the first Inuit artist to have work included in the international exhibition. In 2010, he passed away as a result of complications related to surgery for lung cancer.