Pudlo Pudlat

Pudlo Pudlat was born on February 4, 1916 at Ilupirlik, a small camp near Amadjuak, about 350 kilometers east of Cape Dorset.

Pudlo was one of Cape Dorset’s most prolific and original artists. He remembered as a child being reprimanded by his parents for drawing on the walls of his family’s snow house so it came as a delightful surprise when as a young man he was encouraged by James Houston and Terry Ryan to peruse his obvious talents as a graphic artist. Pudlo’s early adult drawings and prints often depict strange, beguiling creatures and humorous combinations of fantasy and reality. When acrylic washes were introduced in the studios, Pudlo became an avid devotee to this medium, filling large sheets of paper with wondrous and colourful landscapes.

Pudlo is perhaps best known as one of the first artists in Cape Dorset to portray the transition between the traditional Inuit nomadic lifestyle and modern transportation and other technologies.

Recognized in his lifetime as an artist who successfully merged these two worlds with humour, optimism and an urban sensitivity, Pudlo was the first Inuit artist to be honoured with a retrospective of his work at the National Gallery of Canada.

"Pudlo's work over the years demonstrate his keen visual sense, his versatility and innovativeness in subject matter and technique - tempered by his sense of humour - his knowledge of traditional life on the land, and his acknowledgement of changing times… Pudlo's thinking/drawing process is a truly creative approach, done both consciously and unconsciously. In the 1978 Cape Dorset print catalogue (p. 67) Pudlo talks about his drawing:

"At times when I draw, I am happy, but sometimes it is very hard. I have been drawing for a long time now, I only draw what I think, but sometimes I think the pencil has a brain too."

- Jean Blodgett, "Grasp Tight the Old Ways", Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983, p. 136-137

Also known as Padluq, Padlo, Padloo, Pudloo.

Born on 1916 in near Kamadjuak, resided in Cape Dorset, NU. Died on December 28, 1992. Nationality is Inuit