Napachie Pootoogook (1938-2002)
Napachie Pootoogook was born in 1938 at Sako, a small camp on south Baffin Island. She died in December, 2002, of cancer. Napachie was the only daughter of the late Pitseolak Ashoona. She was known both for her prints and, later in her career, for her original drawings. Her primary mediums were coloured pencil and black felt pen in conjunction with acrylic paints. Napachie loved documenting ancestral stories of camp life and legend, depicting everyday life and myths from Inuit folklore. Since the 1960s her work has been a highlight of the Cape Dorset Print Collection. Her work was shaped by her experience as the last of a generation to live 'on the land' in a traditional way. Her mother, Pitseolak Ashoona, was a pioneer in the development of Inuit art in the 1950s. Napachie's work influenced both her daughter, Annie Pootoogook, and her niece, Shuvinai Ashoona, to develop successful careers as artists.
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