A unique collection of Inuit art is being given to the University of Michigan Museum of Art. More than 200 stone sculptures and prints from the Inuit people on Baffin Island in Canada, just west of Greenland. The collection is valued at $2.5 million. There are additional funds to endow an Inuit art program. These gifts from from Phil and Kathy Power.
The story behind the collection is as interesting as the art itself. Phil Power gave Lester Graham a tour of the collection in this extended version of the interview.
The interview looks at the evolution of art among the Inuit people on Baffin Island, how Japanese block printing influenced the artists, and how Power and his father helped bring the art to the attention of collectors starting in the mid-1950s.
Support for arts and culture coverage comes in part from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
