James Archibald Houston (June 12, 1921 – April 17, 2005) was a Canadian artist, designer, children's author and filmmaker who played an important role in the recognition of Inuit art and introduced printmaking to the Inuit. The Inuit named him ''Saumik'', which means "the left-handed one".

Biography

Born in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontari ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, James Houston studied art as a child with

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL. D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

and was educated at the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...

(1938–40),

Académie de la Grande Chaumière The Académie de la Grande Chaumière is an art school in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France. History The school was founded in 1904 by the Catalan painter Claudio Castelucho on the rue de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, near the Acad� ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

(1947–48) and in Japan (1958–59) where he studied printmaking. He fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

with the Toronto Scottish Regiment, receiving the

Canadian Volunteer Service Medal The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal is granted to persons of any rank in the Naval, Military or Air Forces of Canada who voluntarily served on Active Service from September 3, 1939, to March 1, 1947. The medal was established on October 22, 1943 ...

. After the war, he went to the

Eastern Arctic The Eastern Arctic was an electoral district of the Northwest Territories, Canada, created in 1966 and abolished in 1975. The district was represented by Simonie Michael Simonie Michael ( iu, ᓴᐃᒨᓂ ᒪᐃᑯᓪ; first name also spelled ...

to paint and lived there for twelve years. He was a northern service officer and civil administrator of western

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

. In 1962, he moved to New York and became associate director of design with

Steuben Glass Steuben Glass is an American art glass manufacturer, founded in the summer of 1903 by Frederick Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York, which is in Steuben County, from which the company name was derived. Hawkes was the owner of the l ...

. Moving effortlessly and with great success between different activities, perhaps his biggest accomplishment was his work in the Eastern Arctic of Canada, developing Inuit art. In 1948, Houston traveled to a small Inuit community in Arctic Quebec,

Inukjuak Inukjuak ( iu, ᐃᓄᒃᔪᐊᒃ, ''Inujjuaq'' or ''Inukjuaq'' in Latin script, meaning 'The Giant') is a northern village (Inuit community) located on Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Innuksuak River in Nunavik, in the region of northern Queb ...

(then Port Harrison), to draw and paint images of the Inuit and the Arctic landscape. He traded his own drawings, done on the spot, for a small carving, by an Inuit hunter named Nayoumealuk,. of a seated deer. Houston recognized its aesthetic appeal and returned to the

Canadian Handicrafts Guild The Canadian Handicrafts Guild (now known as La Guilde) was an association of Canadians involved in handicrafts that was founded in Montreal in 1906. At first the goal was to preserve and market traditional home crafts that were seen as being at ri ...

, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, with roughly a dozen small carvings, done mostly in

steatite Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

. The guild, which had tried as early as the 1920s to foster an Inuit-handicrafts market, was impressed with the carving; they were equally impressed by Houston. The guild secured a

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

grant of $1,100 and sent Houston back north in the summer of 1949 to make bulk purchases in various communities in the Eastern Arctic. When Houston returned to Montreal that fall, the guild mounted their first exhibition of

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...

carvings. According to collector Ian Lindsay, the first exhibition was a complete sell-out. The government put more resources into developing an art and handicrafts market in the Arctic, hiring Houston to live in

Cape Dorset Kinngait (Inuktitut meaning "high mountain" or "where the hills are"; Syllabics: ᑭᙵᐃᑦ), formerly known as Cape Dorset until 27 February 2020, is an Inuit hamlet located on Dorset Island near Foxe Peninsula at the southern tip of Baff ...

as the first "roving crafts officer", and tapping him to write promotional material for sales in the south. The guild's fall sales exhibitions became annual affairs, with lineups routinely stretching out the door and down the block on Peel Street. By the late 1950s, the Government had sponsored tours of Inuit art through Eastern and Western Europe, South America and the Middle East. After successfully launching Inuit sculpture, Houston introduced printmaking in 1957, which met with the same success. Houston lived in Cape Dorset with his wife Alma Houston and his two sons, Samuel and John Houston until 1962, when the couple split and he moved to New York City. He was writer and producer of the 1974 film based on his novel, '' The White Dawn''. In 1976, his 70-foot high acrylic and aluminum sculpture "Aurora Borealis" was installed in Calgary's new Glenbow Museum, where it is still on display. He died in New London,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, aged 83.

Honours

* He was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

. * He was an honorary member of the College of Fellows of the

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada—its people a ...

. * In 1972 he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. * In 1972 he was awarded a Doctor of Literature, ''

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

'', from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

. * In 1975 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Providence, Rhode Island. The college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, making it the second oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island after Brown Uni ...

. * In 1979 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

. * In 1977 he won the

Vicky Metcalf Award The Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, colloquially called the Vicky, is given annually at the Writers' Trust Awards to a writer or illustrator whose body of work has been "inspirational to Canadian youth". It is a top honour for ...

. * In 1981 he was made an Honorary Fellow,

. * In 1987 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

. * In 1997 he was awarded the

Massey Medal The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) awards the Massey Medal annually to recognize outstanding personal achievement in the exploration, development or description of the geography of Canada. The award was established in 1959, by the M ...

from the

Selected works

Books for children

* ''Akavak: An Eskimo Journey'', 1968. * ''Black Diamonds: A Search for Arctic Treasure'', 1982. * ''Drifting Snow: An Arctic Search'', 1992, winner of the 1993

Governor General's Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

* ''Eagle Mask: A West Coast Indian Tale'', 1966. * ''The Falcon Bow: An Arctic Legend'', 1986. * ''Fire into Ice: Adventures in Glass Making'', 1998. * ''Frozen Fire: A Tale of Courage'', 1977. * ''Ghost Paddle: A Northwest Coast Indian Tale'', 1972. * ''Ice Swords: An Undersea Adventure'', 1985. * ''Kiviok's Magic Journey: An Eskimo Legend'', 1973. * ''Long Claws: An Arctic Adventure'', 1981. * ''River Runners: A Tale of Hardship and Bravery'', 1979, winner of the 1980

Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award The Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award is a literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian children's book. The book must be written in English and published in Canada during the preceding year (and nominated by ...

. * ''Tikta'liktak: An Eskimo Legend'', 1965, winner of the 1966 Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award. * ''The White Archer: An Eskimo Legend'', 1967, winner of the 1968 Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award. * ''Whiteout'', 1991 * ''Wolf Run: A Caribou Eskimo Tale'', 1971.

Books for adults

* ''Confessions of an Igloo Dweller'', 1995. * ''Eagle Song: An Indian Saga Based on True Events'', 1983. * ''Eskimo Graphic Art: 1964-1965'', 1965. * ''Eskimo Handicrafts'', 1951. * ''Eskimo Prints'', 1967. * ''Ghost Fox'', 1977. * ''Hideaway: Life on the Queen Charlotte Islands'', 1999. * ''The Ice Master: A Novel of the Arctic'', 1997. * ''Ojibwa Summer'', 1972. * ''Running West'', 1989. * ''Songs of the Dream People'', 1972. * ''Spirit Wrestler'', 1980. McClelland and Stewart, * ''The White Dawn: An Eskimo Saga'', 1971. * ''Zigzag: A Life on the Move'', 1998.

References

External links

*
Houston North Gallery
featuring Inuit art and culture * Archives of James Housto
(James Houston fonds, R11751)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...

* (under 'Houston, James A., 1921–') {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, James 1921 births 2005 deaths Artists from St. Catharines Canadian children's writers Canadian designers Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian printmakers Massey Medal recipients Modern artists Officers of the Order of Canada Writers from Ontario 20th-century Canadian artists 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male artists Canadian expatriates in France Canadian expatriates in Japan 20th-century Canadian male artists