Pudlat, Mary

PUDLAT, Mary

Born

Povungnituk, Quebec, 1923

Died

Kingait, Nunavut, 2001

Mary Pudlat was born in Povungnituk, Quebec in 1923 (some sources state 1915, 1920 and 1926). Orphaned at a young age, she moved to Baffin Island in the early 1940's, where she married Samuelie Pudlat in 1943. Pudlat and her family lived a traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle before permanently settling in the Inuit community of Cape Dorset in 1963. In the 1960's, she joined the burgeoning West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative and developed her soapstone sculpting and drawing skills. She also participated in the Cooperative's first etching workshop in 1979. Many of Pudlat's works depict scenes of traditional fishing, birthing and hunting. Although Pudlat had to leave her artistic endeavours temporarily because of family obligations, she returned to drawing and printmaking in Cape Dorset in 1979. Her prints and drawings were assembled into portfolios that were published several times in the "Cape Dorset Graphic Annual Print Catalogue." In 1996, Pudlat created a coloring book for Inuit children titled "Inuit Spring Time", which was used as an educational tool. Pudlat's works have been exhibited in major museums across Canada, the United States and Europe.