KENOJUAK ASHEVAK, 1998, digital reproduction, 14 x 11 in.

An arrested gaze. A weathered cheek. Light flooding the surface of a printing stone. The intimate actions of an artist lost in the act of creation. These are John Reeves’ photographs of the Inuit artists of Cape Dorset. In glowing whites and inky blacks, he has immortalized the residents of the north during visits to the Canadian Arctic spanning more than thirty years. This fall, as the world celebrates the inspiration of Cape Dorset artists on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Annual Graphics Collection, it is most appropriate to recognize these portraits of the artists by John Reeves.

Photographer, writer, broadcaster and cultural enthusiast, John Reeves has been a witness to, and a commentator on, the challenging face of Canadian society throughout his career. Born in Burlington, he studied art in Montreal before graduating from the Ontario College of Art in 1961. He began broadcasting in 1968, subsequently hosting the CBC arts and entertainment program, “Toronto in Review”. He has made numerous television and radio appearances and has worked extensively for the National Film Board. His photographs have been exhibited internationally in solo and group shows and he has been a recipient of many awards. Among the prominent Canadian and international figures he has photographed Margaret Atwood, Artie Shaw, Marshall McCluhan, and Pierre Trudeau. John Reeves is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.