Freeland Library to sell Cape Dorset prints | NOTEWORTHY

November 30, 2016 6:00 am
Kayaker’s Reflection, a stonecut piece by Kanangi, is one of nine Cape Dorset fine art prints being sold by the Freeland Library.They were donated by Greenbank residents Bannister and Margaret Farquhar.
Kayaker’s Reflection, a stonecut piece by Kanangi, is one of nine Cape Dorset fine art prints being sold by the Freeland Library.They were donated by Greenbank residents Bannister and Margaret Farquhar.

The Freeland Library is expecting some unanticipated activity and facility improvements thanks to two Greenbank benefactors.

Bannister and Margaret Farquhar recently donated 10 Cape Dorset fine art prints to the Freeland Library, nine of which will be sold or auctioned off. The couple were collectors but recently relocated due to health concerns and decided to donate the signed and numbered prints to the library. The assessed value of the prints ranges from $450 to $1,500, according to a news release.

Dorset art is done by the indigenous Inuit of Cape Dorset, Canada.

Prints may be purchased outright or bid upon in a silent auction concluding with a gala wine and cheese party from 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 at the Freeland Library. Bidding for the prints begins at 50 percent of the assessed value, the release said.

The prints illustrate the land, ocean and Arctic animals Inuit artists experience in their natural world. Printmaking was introduced to the Nunavut hamlet of Cape Dorset, known as “Kinngait” in the Inuit language, in the mid-1950s, with the inaugural prints going on sale in early 1960. Since then several other Inuit communities have followed Cape Dorset’s example, forming an Arctic school of printmakers that imaginatively depict the traditional world of the Eskimo and a vanishing way of life.

Panniq is another stonecut piece by artist Kanangi. Stonecut is a process that involves tracing a pattern and using it to carve prepared stone which is later used to create prints.

Panniq is another stonecut piece by artist Kanangi. Stonecut is a process that involves tracing a pattern and using it to carve prepared stone which is later used to create prints.