Traverse City Events: The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City continue its tradition of exhibiting the Cape Dorset Annual Graphics Collection. The Traverse City exhibit is currently open and continues through November 27. Sale of prints begins Friday, October 21 at 6:30 p.m at the Dennos Museum Centr in Traverse City. A reception at 6:00 p.m. precedes the sale. Sales are by lottery, since many of the prints are in high demand. Interested buyers may receive a catalogue, price list and lottery number by calling the museum store 231.995.1586.
The 2011 Annual Print Collection is dedicated to Kananginak Pootoogook, who passed away November 23, 2010. His final six images are included here; all except one, Starboard Wind, have been signed posthumously by Kananginak’s son Johnny. These images capture Kananginak’s stylistic range and great popular appeal as a graphic artist.
The work of the Kinngait Studios proceeded vigorously this year, producing another strong collection of 33 images by 11 artists. Most are familiar to the Inuit art audience but there is one newcomer, Malaija Pootoogook. Malaija did her first drawing in in 1994, inspired by the work of her great-grandmother, the late Pitseolak Ashoona.
In 1960, Bernard Rink, on behalf of the Osterlin Library, was fortunate to become the Michigan distributor of one of the sets of prints. From 1960-1983, Inuit prints were primarily acquired, for the college collection, by hosting an exhibition and sale of the Cape Dorset prints. Through this process, over 275 prints were acquired along with the simultaneous acquisition of an almost equal number of sculptures. Now
noted as one of the most historically complete collections of Inuit art, in
United States, with over 1,000 pieces in the collection, the Dennos Museum Center has made the commitment to carry on the tradition of collecting Inuit prints by hosting the Cape Dorset Annual Graphics Collection.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to purchase new work for the Dennos Museum Inuit Collection.
Preview catalogues and price list are available at the Dennos Museum Store or by calling (231) 995-1586, the prints can be viewed by visiting the Dennos Museum Center web site dennosmuseum.org.