Creative By Nature: The Bohan Collection of Inuit Art

John L. and Ethel Margaret Gillmor Bohan (B.S. Iowa State University 1938) were thoughtful and engaged collectors. Their interest and passion for the art of the Inuit people of South Baffin Island in Arctic Canada is evident in the knowledge and love of this art that was passed along to their children, who generously donated their parent’s collection to University Museums. 

[....] The exhibition will let visitors [....] gain an understanding of a life and culture that may seem separate from the lives of Iowans, but the reverence for nature and their existence from the land will be recognizable.  The spiritual connection to the animals and land which provided for their subsistence is a familiar connection, one that many Iowans feel for the land that has provided them with their own livelihoods. While the skills of the artists in carving, printmaking, and drawing will be obvious and praised, it is this deeper understanding of how our modern culture can recognize our own beliefs and histories in the art of a very different culture that will most benefit visitors to the exhibition.

This exhibition is in homage to the Bohan’s and the hope is to inspire visitors to seek out the beauty and spirituality found in the diverse cultures of this world. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.