About E. Parr

E. Parr

Parr (1893 – November 3, 1969) was an Inuk artist known for his striking depictions of traditional Inuit life. He lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle until 1961, when health issues and a hunting accident led him to settle in Cape Dorset (now Kinngait), Nunavut.

Biography

Parr was born in 1893 on southern Baffin Island, near Cape Dorset, in what was then the Northwest Territories (now Nunavut). He and his wife, Eleeshushe Parr, who was also an artist, had nine children, several of whom became artists themselves.

Work

After moving to Cape Dorset, Parr began creating drawings and stonecut relief prints, producing over 2,000 works in just eight years. His artwork primarily depicted hunting scenes but also included shamanic imagery, reflecting both traditional and changing Inuit ways of life. His drawings capture the transition from a semi-nomadic existence to a more settled lifestyle. Parr’s creative journey was influenced by the introduction of drawing and printmaking at the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative (WBEC) studios. In 1977, one of his prints was featured on a Canadian postage stamp, cementing his legacy in Inuit art history.