Johnny Inukpuk began carving in the early 1950s after James Houson's first visit to Inukjuak. His work, including a very large (49.5 x 36.8 x 21.5 cm) piece entitled Hunter, was part of a collection of Inuit art that was acquired by the TD Bank Financial Group in 1951. His work received recognition as part of an exhibition of Inuit art known as The Coronation Exhibition held at Gimpel Fils in London, England in 1953.

Johnny Inukpuk's anecdotal Inuit sculpture reflected an austere, sometimes violent, way of life. By contrast, his depictions of balloon-breasted mothers nursing plump contented babies seemed to assure the viewer a life of love and abundance. An anachronistic flaw, a cleft lip, was invariably shared by both figures. His explanation, probably tongue-in-cheek, was that "white people think Eskimos look like that." Although known primarily as a sculptor, Inukpuk did make one notable print. Titled A True Story of Johnny Being Attacked by Three Polar Bears While in His Igloo (1974), the print documented an encounter with a trio of polar bears who attacked the artist as he lay in his igloo during an overnight hunting trip. Having left his rifle outside the igloo, he managed to fend off the bears with only a stick. Although primarily a sculptor and not familiar with printmaking technique, he consulted with community elders and decided that the print medium would more adequately recreate the event.

In 1978, Inukpuk was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. A prolific artist, he was still carving well into his later years.

The Canadian Encylopedia

Exhibitions

• Arctic Mirror, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Arctic Quebec Print Collection II *74, (annual collection)
• Arctic Quebec Sculpture, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Arctic Quebec Sculpture of Johnny Inukpuk, Maslak-McLeod Canadian Art
• Arctic Quebec Sculpture/Toni Onley Watercolours, Houston North Gallery
• Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum
• Art/Inuit/Art: The Rothmans Permanent Collection of Eskimo Sculpture, Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Ltd.
• Artists of Arctic Quebec, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Collector's Dolls and Baskets, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec
• Eskimo Art, Queens Museum
• Eskimo Art, Embankment Gallery
• Eskimo Canada, Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec and La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec, held at Place Bonaventure
• Eskimo Carvings and Prints from the Collection of York University, Art Gallery of York University
• Eskimo Carvings: Coronation Exhibition, Gimpel Fils
• Eskimo Sculpture, arranged by the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, and the National Gallery of Canada
• Eskimo Sculpture and Art Exhibit, Yerkes International Galleries
• Eskimo Sculpture, Eskimo Prints and Paintings of Norval Morrisseau, Art Association of Newport
• Espaces Inuit, Maison Hamel-Bruneau
• Exhibition and Sale of Musk-Oxen and Bears, Cottage Craft Gifts & Fine Arts Ltd.
• Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture Exhibition (first exhibition), Vancouver Inuit Art Society
• Granville Island Canadian Inuit Sculpture Exhibition (second exhibition), Vancouver Inuit Art Society
• Hudson's Bay Company Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Im Schatten der Sonne: Zeitgenossische Kunst der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada/In the Shadow of the Sun: Contemporary Indian and Inuit Art in Canada, Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Immaginario Inuit Arte e cultura degli esquimesi canadesi, Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea
• Inspiration Four Decades of Sculpture, Marion Scott Gallery
• Inuit Art: A Selection of Inuit Art from the Collection of the National Museum of Man, Ottawa, and the Rothmans Permanent Collection of Inuit Sculpture, Canada, National Museum of Man, Ottawa and Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Ltd.
• Inuit Masterworks: Selections from the Collection of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, McMichael Canadian Collection
• Inuit Sculpture 1982, The Raven Gallery
• Inuit Woman: Life and Legend in Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Inukpuk Family Sculpture, Arctic Artistry
• Johnny Inukpuk of Inoucdjouac, Cottage Craft Gifts and Fine Arts Ltd.
• Johnny Inukpuk R.C.A., Galerie Le Chariot
• Later Works of Johnny Inukpuk, Arctic Artistry
• Les Inuit du Nouveau-Quebec, Musee du Quebec
• Masterwork Sculpture 1985, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Mother and Child: Sculpture and Prints, Albers Gallery
• Moving Around the Form: Inuit Sculpture and Prints, Agnes Etherington Art Centre Queen's University
• Our Hoods are Full, Arctic Artistry
• Recent Acquisitions: Watercolors of the Arctic Landscape and Original Eskimo Sculpture, Arctic Artistry
• Recent Stone Sculpture from Arctic Quebec, Arctic Artistry
• Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterwork Exhibitors of the Canadian Arctic, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Sculpture/Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
• Stories in Stone: Soapstone Sculptures From Northern Quebec and Kenya, La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec
• Takamit - Canadian Eskimo Art: Selections from Private Collections and the Government of Canada, Organized by La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec and the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers University
• The Arctic/L'Artique, UNESCO
• The Art of the Eskimo, Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University
• The Bessie Bulman Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Eskimo Art Collection of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, Toronto-Dominion Bank
• The Inuit Imagination, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Jacqui and Morris Shumiatcher Collection of Inuit Art, Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, University of Regina
• The Spirit of the Land, The Koffler Gallery
• Things Made by Inuit, La Federation des Cooperatives du Nouveau-Quebec
• Traditions and Innovations in Inuit Art Sculpture in Stone, Images of the North
• We Lived by Animals/Nous Vivions des Animaux, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in cooperation with the Department of External Affairs
• Winnipeg Collects: Inuit Art from Private Collections, Winnipeg Art Gallery

Collections

• Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen's University, Kingston
• Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria
• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Art Gallery of York University, Downsview
• Avataq Cultural Institute, Montreal
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown
• Dennos Museum Center, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City
• Glenbow Museum, Calgary
• Hudson Bay Permanent Collection, Winnipeg
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
• Musee de la civilisation, Quebec City
• Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal, Montreal
• Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
• National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
• Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Yellowknife
• Rothmans Permanent Collection of Eskimo Sculpture, Toronto
• Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Toronto-Dominion Bank Collection, Toronto
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg

Publications

• A BUSINES AND MARKETING STUDY AND PLAN FOR INUIT AND DENE ARTS AND CRAFTS:, Author: John C. Williams Consultants Limited, Publication: Toronto, Ont.: John C. Williams Consultants Ltd. (1985)
• AN EXHIBITION OF ESKIMO SCULPTURE, ESKIMO PRINTS AND PAINTINGS OF NORVAL MORRISSEAU — From the Collection Cartier, Montreal, Canada., Author: Art Association of Newport, Publication: Newport, R.I.: Art Association of Newport. (1968)
• ARCTIC WHALERS ICY SEAS — Narratives of the Davis Strait Whale Fishery, Author: Ross, W. Gillies, Publication: Toronto: Irwin Publishing (1985)
• BAKER LAKE 1980, PRINTS = ESTAMPES, Author: Sanavik Co-operative Association, Publication: Baker Lake: Sanavik Co-operative Association (1980)
• CANADIAN ARCTIC PRODUCERS: AN INUIT COMPANY, Author: Canada. Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Publication: A production of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development; directed by Eric Tagoona; narration by Peter Itinuar; (c)D.I.A.N.D. (1975)
• CHRISTIE'S IN CANADA., Author: Christie, Manson & Woods (Canada) Ltd., Publication: Toronto: Christie, Manson & Woods (Canada) Ltd., (1975)
• EARLY ART AND ARTIFACTS OF THE ESKIMO., Author: Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art, Publication: Toronto: The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art. (1975)
• GJOA HAVEN — Recent Sculpture, Author: Canadian Arctic Producers, Publication: Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Producers Cooperative Limited. (1980)
• INUIT ART, INDUSTRY DEVELOP PARTNERSHIP, Author: Glave, James, Publication: Ottawa : Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Transition, Vol.3, No.4 : p.7. (1990)
• MAN, BEAST, AND TRANSFORMATION IN CANADIAN INUIT ART AND CULTURE., Author: Graburn, Nelson H.H., Publication: In: MANLIKE MONSTERS ON TRIAL. Ed. by Marjorie M. Halpin and Michael M. Ames. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press (1980)
• MASTERS OF ADVERSITY — The Contemporary Inuit and Their Art, Author: Swinton, George, Publication: Ada, Michigan : Amway Corporation. Masters of the Arctic : Art in the Service of the Earth. p. 11-15 (1989)
• POTTERY IN KEEWATIN, Author: Nagy, Hendrika G., Publication: The Beaver, Autumn, 1967. pp.61-65. (1967)
• SCULPTURES AND PRINTS BY LYPA PITSIULAK OF PANGNIRTUNG, Author: Upstairs Gallery, Publication: Winnipeg: The Upstairs Gallery (1979)
• SOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE CANADIAN NORTH/ — Documents pour l'etude du Nord canadien., Author: Public Archives Canada, Publication: Ottawa : Minister of Supply and Services. (1980)
• THE PEOPLE WITHIN = LES GENS DE L'INTERIEUR., Author: Art Gallery of Ontario, Publication: Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario. (1976)
• TIKTAK — Sculptor From Rankin Inlet, Author: Gallery One-One-One, Publication: Winnipeg: University of Manitoba. School of Art. Gallery One-One-One (1970)