John Hoover, a revered artist in Alaska who used imagery and tales from Native traditions in contemporary works, has died at 91.
Hoover’s  work was shown around the world and was prized by collectors, corporations and museums.
His wife, Mary, confirmed his death, on Saturday in Washington state, where they lived on Puget Sound.
Hoover was born in Cordova, Alaska, and for years worked as a fisherman. He told the newspaper in a 1998 interview he turned to art after building a 58-foot fishing vessel in the late 1950s made him realize what he had done was much like sculpture.
In 2002, The Anchorage Museum held a retrospective of his work. In May the University of Alaska Anchorage awarded him an honorary doctorate.
Download Audio (MP3)
