Tattoos are a part of Inuit culture that died out after the arrival of missionaries. Tattooing was a female tradition that symbolized womanhood. A girl’s first tattoo usually appeared on her face, the most common being the forehead, cheeks and chin. The missionaries believed tattoos to be a sign of evil and banned women from getting them. They went from being a symbol of Inuit pride to a symbol of forbidden shamanism in a Christian community. Women were encouraged to be ashamed of their tattoos. At the beginning of the 21st century there began a revival of traditional Inuit tattoos. Hundreds of women have since been tattooed and reclaimed the as tradition as a source of Inuit pride.

In 2006, a major collection of 246 sculptures was donated to the Gallery by Vancouver collector Dr. Harry Winrob. Originally from Winnipeg, Winrob had made occasional purchases of Inuit carvings beginning in 1968. He became interested in seriously collecting Inuit sculpture in 1971, and soon focused on acquiring works made of organic materials from game animals (whalebone, walrus ivory, and caribou antler). Fifty-four sculptures in Winrob’s collection are created from organic materials, and thirty-six of these are of whale bone. Winrob once gave his background as a physician as the reason for his interest in these materials. However, much of his interest was also aesthetic. He was particularly interested in the flamboyant sculpture by Nattilingmiut (Netsilik) artists from Taloyoak, Gjoa Haven, and Kugaaruk. Sculpture with shamanic content fascinated him, particularly animal/human transformations. He explained that it was not the “classic” but the atypical, even the bizarre that held a strong attraction for him. In March 2008, Harry Winrob’s collection was the subject of a major WAG exhibition and catalogue.