McMichael Gallery Receives Norman Hallendy Collection of Arctic Pictures

The McMichael Canadian Art Collection is proud to announce that it is the recipient of the Norman Hallendy Collection of Canadian Arctic images. The extensive collection of almost 7,500 colour images is the fifth significant donation made to the gallery over the past twenty years by internationally recognized ethnographer, author and photographer Norman E. Hallendy.

The images in the Norman Hallendy Collection are original 35-mm Kodachrome colour slides photographed by Mr. Hallendy over the past fifty years. He has made many expeditions to the Canadian Arctic to interact with and observe traditional Inuit communities and document their world. The images range in subject from inuksuit (stone figures), ancient and sacred sites, landscapes, seascapes, icebergs, natural environment and campsites, to the people of the Arctic, including artists—many of whom are represented in the art collection of the McMichael. As a respected and trusted friend to the Inuit elders, Mr. Hallendy has been granted the privilege of seeing and photographing inuksuit and ancient sites that others do not have access to. “In terms of understanding the art and people of Kinngait (Cape Dorset), this is a defining moment for the McMichael Canadian Art Collection,” said Thomas Smart, Executive Director and CEO of the gallery. “It is the largest single donation of photographs, both in size and value, to come to this public institution. The slides brilliantly capture the essence of the people, the land, and the history of Kinngait.”

Since 1989, Mr. Hallendy has been donating his photographic work to the McMichael. Earlier donations include a smaller representation of colour slides taken in the Eastern Arctic, and a collection of rare black and white 35-mm negatives and photographs of Kinngait artists from 1968. He has also donated Inuit art including drawings, prints and sculpture. Norman Hallendy has transferred copyright for the images in this collection, and the earlier black & white photograph collections, to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection which will oversee the use and licensing of the Hallendy images in the future. This comprehensive photographic resource has significant research, documentary and educational potential, as well as spectacular aesthetic value.
“The acquisition of these images greatly enhances and supports our existing holdings of Inuit art, including the historic Cape Dorset archival collection on loan from the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative,” continued Mr. Smart.
According to Mr. Smart, the Norman Hallendy Collection is a perfect complement for the approximately 100,000-object Cape Dorset collection of drawings, prints and sculpture. For the past twenty years the McMichael has been the custodian of this national treasure. Kinngait is a hamlet located on Dorset Island off the southwest tip of Baffin Island in Nunavut. Named after the mountains which make up the region (Kinngait means “high mountains”), Cape Dorset has become a centre for Inuit drawing, printmaking, and carving since the 1950s.

Source: Press Release
Stephen Weir, McMichael Gallery, Publicist.