Alphonse Pinart

Alphonse Pinart was a French explorer who journeyed through the Aleution Islands of Alaska in the 1800s. Along the way, he collected significant items directly related to the Alaskan Native cultures, specifically Sugpiaq masks. keep in mind, Pinart kayaked from France to Alaska so imagine the detours he may have encountered to be able to reach these masks. Of his collection, 34 of them were returned to Alaska for a brief period to be displayed in the Anchorage Museum.