Conlucy Nayoumealook
(1891–)
(–1958)
Conlucy Nayoumealook
1891–1958
Conlucy Nayoumealook (1891–1958), also known as Nayoumealook, lived at a camp near Inukjuak (Port Harrison), Nunavik, Quebec. He was both a hunter who lived off the land and a sculptor. The subjects of his carvings were a reflection of his lived experience and included birds, hunting activities, and hooded female figures.
In 1948, James Houston, a significant figure in the dissemination and popularization of Inuit art in the south, visited the Arctic for the first time. On this visit, Houston met Conlucy, and Conlucy gifted him a small carving of a caribou. This meeting was a pivotal moment for the beginning of the Inuit contemporary art period and established a longstanding connection between the pair and their families. Conlucy’s granddaughter Alicie Kasudluak Niviaxie is also an artist.
Conlucy’s carvings have been featured in exhibitions across Canada and are held in the permanent collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and the New Brunswick Museum, St. Johns, among others.
