Richard Harrington (Canada, 1911-2005)
‘Padlei, N.W.T. 1950’
oil on panel
(Image): 11 ¾” high x 17 ½” wide
(Framed): 22 ¼” high x 28 ¼” wide
Description: A fine original Richard Harrington (1911-2005) black and white silver gelatin photograph, titled and dated, ‘Padlei, N.W.T. 1950.’
Artist Remark: “One man had fashioned a violin from a bacon tin and sinews, and was playing it for his family.”
Notes: The woman to the left of the image appears to be scraping a hide and the young child situated in an amautik is attentively watching the action of the bow.
Markings: titled in black marker margin lower left, “PADLEI, N.W.T. 1950” and signed in black marker margin lower right with Richard Harrington’s signature.
Medium: black and white, silver gelatin
(Image): 11 ¾” high x 17 ½” wide
(Framed): 22 ¼” high x 28 ¼” wide
Condition: Excellent – Ready for Display.
Reference: Richard Harrington, “The Inuit Life As It Was,” pp. 120 & described on pp.24
Artist Biography: Richard Harrington (Germany/Canada, 1911-2005) OC, Photographer. Born in Hamburg, German, Harrington immigrated to Canada in the 1920s. Select Biography: The face of the Arctic: a cameraman’s story in words and pictures of five journeys into the far North (1952); British Columbia in pictures (1958); The Inuit: Life as it Was (1981); Richard Harrington: Canadian Photographer (1998) – with photographic inclusions in more than 21 other books. Exhibitions: National Archives of Canada; the Smithsonian Institution; and the Museum of Modern Art. Distinctions: Order of Canada, 2001.
