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The Bear Hunt

Artist Helen Kalvak (Tahiryuak Lake, Victoria Island, Canada, 1901 - 1984)

Mediumlithograph on paper

ClassificationsPrints

AcquisitionPurchased in 1968.

Object numberABDAG008475

About MeHelen Kalvak lived in the a traditional Inuit way for most of her life. Although Kalvak later converted to Christianity, she continued to reflect her shamanism in her artwork, along with the stories which she had learned as a child.

In 1960, Kalvak moved to Holman (present-day Ulukhaktok) after the sudden death of her husband, Edward Manayok. There in 1961 she helped a Roman Catholic priest, Rev. Henri Tardy, set up the Holman Eskimo Co-op. Along with other Inuit women she sewed sealskin coats and otehr craft items for sale in the co-op but she also began to draw, images that recalled the traditional way of life of teh Inuits. These drawings were subsequently made into prints and by 1965, these prints were being sold worldwide.

Ten years later, in recognition of her work, Kalvak was elected as a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. This was followed in 1978 by her appointment to the Order of Canada.