Wilbur Munnecke - Background

Some of you may have noticed the story and photo of Wilbur Munakee, whom my mother knew back in the day. I was also alerted that Wilbur Munnecke bought the Merc from my Grandfather. I am not sure of the year but that is a part of the store's lineage.
Well today I got this e-mail from Dad about a bit more of this guy:

History of the Collection

World wide awareness of Inuit art originated with the assistance of James Houston, noted artist, author and designer for Stueben Glass, who collected small carvings made by Canada's aboriginal (Inuit) peoples in the late 1940s. He brought the sculptures to southern Canada where they were subsequently sold to support the economic needs of the Inuit people.

In 1953 James Houston solicited support from his friend, Eugene Power, who was born in Traverse City, to help import Inuit art into the United States. Power, who owned and operated University Microfilms in Ann Arbor, established a non-profit gallery in Ann Arbor called Eskimo Art Incorporated to import the work. He encouraged the Cranbrook Institute of Science to host the first exhibition of Inuit art in the United States in 1953.

Later Houston taught the Inuit to make unique stone cut and seal skin stencil prints and in 1959 the first collection of Inuit prints was released at Cape Dorset.

In 1960 Wilbur Munnecke of Field Enterprises in Chicago, who was on the Board of Eskimo Inc., gave Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) in Traverse City a small collection of sculpture and prints to sell and Bernie Rink, Director of the Library, used proceeds from the sale to purchase some of the work. Thus began the collection of Inuit Art.

In 1991 the opening of the Dennos Museum Center at NMC provided a permanent gallery for the collection and opportunities for programming.

Bernie Rink is the founder of Boskedyl Vineyards