Parr

Parr was born in 1893 at a small camp located near Fish Lake on southern Baffin Island. The first years of his life were devoted to learning the hunting skills and land-based practices of his people. Parr continued to live on the land until the late 1950s, when health issues finally compelled him to move to the new settlement of Kinngait where he could get access to medical attention and be closer to members of his family. Soon after his arrival, Parr started making drawings for the community’s newly established art coop. Over the next seven or eight years, he produced a large body of works on paper. Several of his drawn images were translated into prints and included in the settlement’s annual releases of print editions. In 1968, a year before he passed away, Parr was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.