Director’s Choice:
Lucy Qinnuayuak

One of the pleasures of exploring the Kinngait Drawings Archive at the McMichael is discovering works by artists who may not have the household name recognition they deserve. Lucy Qinnuayuak (1915–1982) is one, cherished by those in the know for her spectacular drawings of Arctic birds, including owls—her favourites. But unlike the owls drawn by her better-known niece Kenojuak Ashevak—which emit a kind of stately dignity and equipoise (think The Enchanted Owl)—Qinnuayuak’s are all frazzle-dazzle, such as this mother-and-baby duo in felt-tip marker on paper that fairly jumps off the page. Here the artist’s pure delight in decoration is given free rein in a riot of ruffles, the composition vibrating with contrasting stripes of red and navy blue. As is customary in Qinnuayuak’s art, the birds appear startled by our gaze, as if caught in some owlish matters beyond our ken.

There’s a fellowship here between artist and subject that speaks of her close observation of these birds, and a sense of kinship and amusement perhaps arising from her childhood spent in an outpost camp in Nunavik, in Northern Quebec. These are creatures whose quirky personalities she knew well.

The McMichael holds some 2,300 drawings by Qinnuayuak, all available online on our portal, Iningat Ilagiit “a place for family”—testaments to her curious, comic, and unconventional way of experiencing her world.

Sarah Milroy
Frances and Tim Price Executive Director and Chief Curator
McMichael Canadian Art Collection