Elijah Kakinya using his spotting glass to look for caribou, 1951. Artist: Jeffries Wyman, watercolor and pencil on paper. - Photo Provided / for Alaska Newspapers

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Anaktuvik Pass receives gift of art and history

December 9th 1:19 am | Hannah Heimbuch

More than 50 years ago artist and scien- tific pioneer Jeffries Wyman staged one of his historic exploratory retreats at UAF's Anaktuvuk Pass weather station. While there, he created more than 100 paintings and drawings.

Recently, Wyman's son and daughter, Anne and Jeffries Jr., donated 17 of those to the University of Alaska Museum of the North. In addition, they funded the trans- port of framed, high-quality reproductions to Anaktuvuk Pass, where they now hang at the Simon Paneak Memorial Museum.

"Museums have two conflicting goals, preserving objects so that they can be expe- rienced by future generations, and ensuring that they get to be seen and enjoyed now," said Mareca Guthrie, fine arts curator for the UA museum, in a release. "Because watercolors are so sensitive, we decided it would be best to keep the originals in the climate controlled environment of our museum, but it was also important for Anaktuvuk Pass to have something to display."

Anne Wyman, who wrote the book "Kiplings Cat: Memoir of My Father," said she wanted the beautiful paintings she had enjoyed to be passed to the communities whose lifestyle they celebrated.

"He ate caribou or sheep the men sighted with ancient telescopes steadied on fork sticks," Wyman said in a release. "All of this figured in a series of beautiful cobalt and sepia watercolors of the landscape and - for almost the only time in his painting life - of the people he lived with."

Vera Woods, director of the Anaktuvuk Pass museum, said the paintings are a fine addition to their collection.

"They are hanging beautifully in the Elder's Room, and the people love them."

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Copyright 2012 The Arctic Sounder is a publication of Alaska Newspapers, Inc. This article is © 2012 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are granted for this printing only. This article, in any form, may not be further reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication for not-for-profit purposes. Portions of this article may belong to other agencies; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Newspapers, Inc. makes no provisions for further distribution.