Eskimo drawing and prints
MS 1988-27 Inuit drawings and prints
Cape Dorset is an Inuit community located on Dorset Island in the Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut, Canada. Since the 1950s, Cape Dorset, often called the "Capital of Inuit Art," has been a center for Inuit artists, especially in the areas of drawing, printmaking, and carving.
The collection consists of two (2) color woodblock prints and eight (8) crayon and pencil drawings made by Inuit residents of Cape Dorset in Nunavut territory, Canada, from 1963-1966. The prints and drawings depict traditional Inuit subjects, including birds, bears, fish and hunting scenes. Many of the items are labeled with titles, dates, and artists' names.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Contact the repository for terms of use.
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
NAA MS 1988-27
The items in this collection were collected by Joseph H. Hirshhorn and comprised a small portion of his bequest to the Smithsonian Institution. They were transferred from Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden to the Department of Anthropology as part of a larger collection of nearly 700 archaeological and ethnological items in April 1986 (Accession 370312). This collection was transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the National Anthropological Archives in August 1988.
MS 1988-27 Inuit drawings and prints, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
The Department of Anthropology object collections holds materials transferred from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Accession 370312.