Historic Photos of the North

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Geraldine Moody, "Inuit women and children at summer camp, Fullerton Harbour, Nunavut," August 1906

Collection of the Glenbow

When Geraldine Moodie created a 1906 portrait of several Inuit mothers with their offspring, including two naked babies, her camera captured an atmosphere of maternal ease and warmth. Inuit women and children at summer camp, Fullerton Harbour, Nunavut, like many of her other images, reflects her affinity for northern women.

Like her subjects, Moodie, who lived from 1854 to 1945, raised a family in isolated communities. Once her six children were grown, she and her husband, Douglas, a senior officer in the North-West Mounted Police, travelled to the Far North in 1903, where they documented the way of life in settler and Inuit communities for the following seven years.

Now, the work of this talented and adventurous couple is the subject of an exhibition, Historic Photographs of the Canadian North, on view at Calgary’s Glenbow Museum from Feb. 18 to Sept. 10.

“This is an extraordinary collection of vintage negatives donated to the museum in 2015,” says Melanie Kjorlien, the museum’s vice-president of access, collections and exhibitions. Using digital technology, the Glenbow reproduced 70 black-and-white images from glass plates. “They are high-quality, large-format prints,” Kjorlien says. “Viewers will appreciate the detail.” Most of the images have never been seen by the public.

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Geraldine Moody, "Portrait of Inuit woman, Kootucktuck, in her beaded attigi, Fullerton Harbour, Nunavut," February 1905

Collection of Glenbow

Already an experienced photographer, Geraldine set up a studio in Fullerton Harbour and invited members of the Inuit community to pose. Her photograph, Portrait of Inuit woman, Kootucktuck, in her beaded attigi, was featured on a Canadian postage stamp in 2013. The Glenbow exhibition also includes a “picture within a picture” – a photograph of Geraldine showing people photographs she had taken of them.

Douglas, trained in photography by his wife, sometimes attached his images of police officers at work to written reports. The couple also took photographs of dog-sled teams, sealers, explorers and interactions between police and locals. Periodically, they hosted a lantern slide show for their neighbours, an activity replicated at the Glenbow, complete with an old-fashioned lantern. About 70 per cent of the text accompanying the photos is derived from their diaries, reports and other records, shedding light on daily life in the North as well as their creative process.

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Geraldine Moody, "DGS Arctic frozen in the ice, Fullerton Harbour, Nunavut," April 1905

Collection of Glenbow

"The exhibit resonates today with the idea of the North, reinforced by the historical idea of the North,” says Kjorlien. This point could be illustrated by Geraldine’s photo of a government steamer against a snowy landscape, a work titled DGS “Arctic” frozen in the ice, Fullerton Harbour, Nunavut. exhibit also resonates with our ongoing concerns about Canada’s sovereignty in the North, climate change and the impact of exploration on the Inuit people,” says Kjorlien.