Name:
Tommy Novakeel (1911 – 1982)
Gender:
Male
Style:
Inuit
Region:
Pangnirtung, Nunavut, Canada
Several Inuit artists working in Pangnirtung, including Tommy Nuvaqirq, came from generations whose life and work were closely tied to whale hunting in the Cumberland Sound. Although the white whale and beluga are still hunted today, it was the bowhead that these hunters prized.
Through his work, Nuvaqirq created a visual memory of this important period in the life of his people, based on tales passed down through generations as well as his own experience as a young man. Because the Pangnirtung printshop was begun only in 1973, Nuvaqirq was already mature when he began to contribute his drawings to the annual collections
