ABOVE: James Houston brought inuit art like these pieces to the world, discovering scores of artists in Northern Canada and promoting them worldwide. Left to right: Manumie Shaqu’s Bear (no date); Axanguyak Shaa’s Walrus (2000); Elijah Michael’s Muskox (2001). All three can be seen at the Houston North Gallery in Nova Scotia

James Houston, who was instrumental in bringing Inuit art to the world, died on Sunday at 83; the Canadian media, apparently pope-drunk, didn’t do anything about it until yesterday. This CBC obituary is a little thin, but it gives an adequate overview of Houston’s work and his importance.

There is some very beautiful Inuit art, and a lot more that is banal and hackneyed; Houston is pretty much responsible for both. After meeting the Inuit on a northwards trek in search of artistic inspiration, the young Houston was amazed by their traditional carved stone sculptures of dancing walruses and polar bears and fishermen. In return he taught them printmaking, and works by contemporary Inuit artists now sell for thousands of dollars.

Houston lived in the North for over a decade before moving back to New York to be a glassblower-slash-novelist-slash-documentary filmmaker. His son opened the Houston North Gallery in Nova Scotia in the early 80s, which ensures a steady supply of dancing arctic megafauna statuary for us all. Tavvauvutit, James.

Houston introduced print-making to Inuit