A keen observer of Arctic wildlife from a young age, Kananginak was an expert hunter and documenter. A favourite subject was the Snowy Owl, which can be spotted time and time again in his prints and drawings. Kananginak paid careful attention to their stance and plumage. Here we are treated to a charming and familiar scene: a mother owl sheltering her young chicks. Her wings and stance are spread wide against the perceived interloper, and her beak is open in a warning screech, echoed by her two young fledglings. Staring straight back at us, she is perhaps not keen about constantly being observed!

References: For a recounting of an artistic career from Kananginak himself and those around him, see Ingo Hessel, Kananginak Pootoogook: Celebrating Five Decades of Artistic Achievement, (Toronto: Museum of Inuit Art, 2010). A further artist interview can be found in Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum, (Phoenix, AZ: Heard Museum/Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2006), p. 107. Further reading on the artist’s career can be found in Leslie Boyd, Kananginak Pootoogook: Drawings and Prints from Kinngait, (Portland, OR: Pomegranate, 2023).