Pitseolak remains one of the most popular of all Cape Dorset graphic artists. She created an astonishing 9,000 drawings in her career, and inspired a total of 238 prints for annual collections. She was also the matriarch of a prodigiously talented dynasty of artist children and grandchildren. Joys of Summer Inland is one of her very first prints, based on a graphite drawing from probably 1959. While Pitseolak is probably best known for her vibrant felt pen drawings that depict camp life and landscape in some detail, the essence of her lively spirit and her vision is clearly apparent even this early on. This joyous image celebrates life on the land, specifically travelling from camp to camp in the summertime, one of her very favourite themes. The print fairly bursts with energy and enthusiasm. The central figure is no doubt the indomitable Pitseolak herself, sporting a wide grin as she marches along, even as the dogs pant with fatigue and her baby wails.

Literature: The best introduction to Pitseolak’s life and art remains Dorothy Eber ed., Pitseolak: Pictures out of my life (Montreal/Toronto: Design Collaborative Books/Oxford University Press, 1971) unpaginated. It illustrates many prints and drawings similar in theme to this early drawing.