James A. Houston
James Archibald Houston was a Canadian artist and author born on June 12, 1921, in Toronto, Ontario. His early exposure to art, encouraged by his mother, and his father's travels among Indigenous peoples significantly influenced his life and work. After serving in the Canadian Army during World War II, Houston dedicated himself to capturing the daily lives and culture of the Inuit, residing in their communities for fourteen years. He became known for his contributions to Inuit art, leading to government support for local carvers. Houston's career expanded as he worked in various capacities, including serving as Canada's first civil administrator for the Northwest Territories, where he conducted crucial studies on Inuit art. In addition to his administrative roles, he moved to New York City to work as a designer and published numerous children's books that featured traditional Indigenous tales. Houston's legacy includes being recognized as a major authority on Arctic peoples, with a body of work that reflects his deep appreciation and understanding of their culture. His storytelling and artistic endeavors provided valuable insights into the lives of Indigenous communities in Canada.
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Subject Terms
James A. Houston
Writer
- Born: June 12, 1921
- Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Died: April 17, 2005
- Place of death: New London, Connecticut
Biography
James Archibald Houston was born on June 12, 1921, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His parents were James Donald Houston, a clothing importer, and Gladys Maud Barbour Houston, an amateur artist. His father traveled widely in his job, and brought back stories and presents from the Inuit and Indian people he visited. Houston’s mother encouraged him to draw, and when he was a child sick with scarlet fever she gave him a blank book, telling him “If you want a book, make one yourself.”
As a teenager, Houston took art lessons at the Toronto Art Gallery. He attended the Ontario College of Art from 1938 to 1940, served five years in the Toronto Scottish Regiment of the Canadian Army during World War II, and took life drawing classes at the École Grand Chaumière in Paris from 1947 to 1948. When he returned to Canada, he traveled around the country looking for subjects to draw, and came to Inukjuak, an Inuit settlement on Hudson Bay. The people welcomed him, and he decided to camp for a few weeks and make drawings of the Inuit (then more commonly called Eskimos) and their daily life. The weeks gradually became fourteen years, during which he learned the Inuit language and many traditional stories, songs, and dances. After he took a collection of soapstone carvings to the Canadian Handcraft Guild in Montreal in 1949, he became the group’s official Arctic advisor, credited with “discovering” the art form. His discovery led to government subsidies to help carvers sustain themselves through their art.
Houston married Alma G. Bardon in 1950. In 1952, he became the Canadian government’s first civil administrator for the Northwest Territories, operating out of West Baffin and traveling through his wide territory by dogsled. He held this job until 1962, taking two extended leaves from his post to study art in Japan and Paris. During his years with the government, he produced two important studies, Canadian Eskimo Art (1955) and Eskimo Graphic Art (1960).
Houston moved to New York City in 1962 to become a designer for Steuben Glass. In 1967, he married Alice Daggett Watson, a year after he and his first wife divorced, and the couple had two sons, John James and Samuel Douglas. As his sons grew, Houston produced more than a dozen children’s picture books with them in mind. In these books, which include Tikta’liktak: An Eskimo Legend (1965) and Ghost Paddle: A Northwest Coast Indian Tale (1972), he wrote down and illustrated traditional tales from the Eskimo, Nascopi, Cree, Tlingat, and other cultures.
Over a long career, Houston wrote screenplays and novels, wrote and illustrated books for children and adults, and illustrated books written by other authors. He maintained a cottage for fishing and writing in British Columbia, and visited the area frequently. Houston was recognized as Canada’s most important authority on Arctic peoples. His firsthand experiences with the Inuit led him to create dozens of sympathetic and insightful books for children and adults.