FIRST ARTS: INUIT & FIRST NATIONS ART AUCTION - 28 MAY 2019

Inuit & First Nations Art

May 28, 2019, Toronto

First Arts

First Arts INUIT & FIRST NATIONS ART AUCTION TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2019 at 7pm Held at Waddington’s, 275 King Street East, Toronto PREVIEWS Friday, May 24 12pm – 5pm Saturday, May 25 11am – 5pm Sunday, May 26 11am – 5pm Select lots may be viewed at other times by appointment.

All lots may be viewed online at www.waddingtons.ca PDF of print catalogue can be viewed at www.FirstArts.ca ABSENTEE AND PHONE BIDDING Phone: 416-504-9100 Fax: 416-504-0033 bids@waddingtons.ca BUYER’S PREMIUM: 20%

First Arts

www.FirstArts.ca This auction is subject to the Conditions of Sale printed in the back of this catalogue.

Copyright ©2019

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of First Arts Premiers Inc.

Front Cover: Lot 18, Inside Front Cover: Lot 24, Back Cover:Lot 25, Inside Back Cover: Lot 15

Catalogue Price: $30 Catalogue photography by Dieter Hessel Catalogue design by Colleen Clancey Catalogue published by Heliographics, Toronto, and printed in Canada by Friesens

Welcome to First Arts P

at Feheley, Ingo Hessel, Mark London and Waddington’s are excited to announce this new partnership. Our goal at First Arts is to utilize our knowledge and expertise coupled with innovative strategies and technologies, to serve the art market with creative new ways for collectors and the general public to access and appreciate the fantastic work of Canada’s Indigenous artists (Inuit, First Nations & Métis). We have over 150 years of combined experience in marketing and appraising Indigenous art at auction and retail, teaching and public education, writing and publishing, museum curatorship, consulting, and working directly with artists.

Because we are committed to providing insightful information about artists and individual artworks, we hope that our efforts will bolster awareness of, and respect for the Indigenous arts of Canada among collectors and the general public. We are embarking on an ambitious program of printed and online catalogues and commentaries. With our emphasis on choosing works of the highest quality in all categories, presenting them in a thoughtful manner, and creating a learning experience we are certain that the First Arts imprimatur will prove invaluable to seasoned and beginner collectors alike.

Collectively, the experts at First Arts are able to offer consignors the choice of auction or retail options.

In order to maximize the value for each work in a collection, we will make recommendations to direct each piece to its appropriate sales venue: auction (live auction, curated online, online), or a retail setting (physical and/or online exhibition).

Contact: Ingo Hessel ingo@FirstArts.ca 613.818.2100

www.FirstArts.ca

Introduction W

e at First Arts are pleased to present our inaugural collection of Inuit & First Nations Art, Tuesday, May 28, 2019 in Toronto. This important group of historical, classic, and modern sculptures, graphics and textiles has been gathered from distinguished Canadian and American collections.

Among the many extraordinary works on offer is an outstanding group of four sculptures by the legendary Puvirnituq sculptor Joe Talirunili. Our Migration Boat is a particularly fine example of this most sought-after subject in Inuit art; together in one magnificent work we can see virtually every salient detail found here and there in the handful of other great boats by Talirunili. Two large and beautifully executed sculptures, Hunter and Woman from the mid-late 1960s, are likewise noteworthy, as is his delightful Owl. Ennutsiak’s Umiaq Migration is a worthy counterpart to Talirunili’s Migration Boat, and we are honoured to be able to exhibit these two masterpieces together. Two powerful works by the great John Tiktak, Head of c. 1965 and Two Figures from c. 1968, indicate the emotional range of this sculptor’s work, while the extraordinary Head by Tiktak’s then Rankin Inlet colleague Tuna Iquliq makes for a fascinating contrast. Other important sculptures include Pauta Saila’s gorgeous Dancing Bear; Henry Evaluardjuk’s impressive Waving Bear; George Tatanniq’s serenely elegant Woman; Osuitok Ipeelee’s stunning Fisherwoman; fine works by John Pangnark, Latcholassie Akesuk, Lucy Tasseor, and Miriam Qiyuk; and a group of lovely ivory miniatures.

We are proud to present Kenojuak’s radiant 1960 print The Woman Who Lives in the Sun, which arguably rivals The Enchanted Owl as an icon of Inuit graphic art, as well as other important works

by Kenojuak including Dogs See the Spirits, also from 1960. Our two-dimensional Inuit art offerings also include a spectacular and highly important untitled textile hanging from c. 1970 by Jessie Oonark, and three remarkable drawings by the same artist. Other graphics highlights include Josephie Pootoogook’s famous Joyfully I See Ten Caribou from 1959; and wonderful images by Parr, Pitseolak, Pudlo, and Pitaloosie.

First Nations highlights include a fabulous Chilkat robe dated c. 1880; a stunning wooden totem pole formerly in the collection of Pierre and Claude Vérité, Paris; and two beautiful Haida argillite pipes: one an unusual ship panel pipe and the other a rare whistle pipe. We would like to thank the distinguished Northwest Coast curator Steven Clay Brown for his thoughtful commentaries.

We are grateful to the many consignors and collectors who support our efforts. Please know that we are happy to receive your questions, comments, and suggestions. Feel free to contact me anytime.

Ingo Hessel ingo@FirstArts.ca 1.613.818.2100

1 JOE TALIRUNILI (1893-1976), PUVIRNITUQ, Owl, c. 1968-70, stone, 5.5 x 2.5 x 3 in, 14 x 6.3 x 7.6 cm Est.: $3,000/5,000 Provenance: Estate of Peter Murdoch, Montreal. Murdoch was general manager of La Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec from 1967-1997.

Talirunili’s great obsession with his family’s Migration story is well documented, but if we were to consider the number of works he carved, surely owls would be considered his favourite subject. Marybelle Myers’ delightful 1977 book on the artist illustrates no fewer than fifteen small stone owls. Joe strove to give each one a distinctive personality, and truly no two are exactly the same. Furthermore Joe’s owls look completely unlike owls carved by any other Inuit artist. Whether tall or short, slim or chubby, Talirunili’s owls are most easily recognized for their exaggeratedly large eyes and ear tufts. It should be noted that owls that frequent the Canadian Arctic have very small ear tufts. It could be that Talirunili once saw a southern tufted owl and became obsessed with its strange appearance, much as the Cape Dorset graphic artist Pudlo Pudlat became obsessed with muskoxen.

References: for similar examples of owls by Talirunili see Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Collection of Inuit Art (Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983) p. 210; see also several examples in the landmark monograph by Marybelle Myers, Joe Talirunili: “a grace beyond the reach of art” (FCNQ, 1977).

3 HENRY EVALUARDJUK (1923-2007), IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY), Walking Bear, late 1950s, stone, 2.75 x 5.75 x 1.75 in, 7 x 14.6 x 4.4 cm Est.: $800/1,200 Provenance: a Quebec private collection; purchased in Igloolik Henry Evaluardjuk was born in the Igloolik area, but spent much of his young adult life travelling to the neighbouring communities of Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay. Likewise, after he moved to Pond Inlet in 1952 he continued to make lengthy trips to the other communities. Evaluardjuk had began carving in the late 1940s, selling works wherever he happened to be living. After a stay in a southern TB sanatorium he finally settled in Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit).

Although unsigned and earlier than other published examples, this superb small sculpture has clear hallmarks of a “Henry bear”: specifically the overall stance, distinctive gait, the slightly turnedin paws, the low extended neck, and the ears.

References: for an early 1960s bear carved by Evaluardjuk at the Hamilton Sanatorium and signed with his disc number see Walker’s May 2017, Lot 2. For an important 1963 example carved in Iqaluit, that is perhaps the prototype of the “Henry bear” style best known to collectors see Walker’s May 2018, Lot 118.

2 ELI SALLUALU QINUAJU (1937-2004), PUVIRNITUQ, Sex Fantasy Figure, 1967, stone, signed in syllabics, 3.5 x 3 x 2.5 in, 8.9 x 7.6 x 6.3 cm Est.: $900/1,200 Provenance: a Quebec private collection; purchased in Puvirnituq in 1967 by the current owner Takushurnaituk translates to “things never seen before.” That was the name of the carving competition held in Puvirnituq in 1967. It was the brainchild of Nelson Graburn, a UC Berkeley anthropologist. The idea was to spark originality. The fifty carvings submitted were narrowed down to thirty-one; eleven of these had been submitted by one artist, Eli Sallualu Qinuajua (who ended up winning the contest). Sallualu spent the rest of his career carving works that have been described as fantastic, grotesque, surreal and bizarre.

Most of Sallualu’s works depict more or less demonic creatures; many look as if they had just climbed out of paintings by Hieronymous Bosch or Salvador Dali. A relatively small number have sexual content, although several of the 1967 competition entries were sexually explicit in nature.

This work depicts an Inuk orally pleasuring a female frog-like creature.

The owner does not recall if the carving was actually part of the competition, but it was purchased in Puvirnituq at that exact time. In any case, the work is historically important as well as charmingly bawdy and hilarious.

References: For numerous other examples of the artist’s work see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 17, 97, 205, 374-378. For a description of the 1967 carving competition in Puvirnituq see Diana Trafford, “Takushurnaituk: Povungnituk Art” in North/Nord magazine (March-April 1968) 52-55.

4 ATTRIBUTED TO SHEOKJUK OQUTAQ (1920-1982) m., CAPE DORSET, Portrait Face, c. mid-late 1970s, stone and ivory, 7.5 x 6 x 3 in, 19 x 15.2 x 7.6 cm Est.: $2,000/3,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection The older brother of the famous sculptor Osuitok Ipeelee (1923-2005), Sheokjuk was arguably just as skilled as a stone and ivory carver. He perfected these skills in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, living in Kimmirut (Lake Harbour) for much of this period. As is clearly apparent in Darlene Wight’s Early Masters catalogue, one of Sheokjuk’s greatest talents was the portrayal of the human face. Whether carved in ivory or stone, his human faces are exquisitely rendered and almost breathtakingly lovely.

Sheokjuk went on to carve mostly animal subjects, especially loons and fish, in the 1960s and 1970s. Although the scale of this face is much larger than the early examples, the elegance, refined workmanship and old-school sensitivity are much in evidence.

Reference: for early works by Sheokjuk see Darlene Coward Wight, EarlyMasters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955 (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006) pp 152-161.

5 PARR (1893-1969) m., PRINTMAKER: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) m., CAPE DORSET, Innukshuks at Play, 1969 # 20, stonecut print, 18/50, 17 x 24 in, 43.2 x 61 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: a Toronto collection Inuksuit (pl. of inuksuk) are stone structures commonly thought of as being built to look like human beings. They are typically used as markers and signposts in the Arctic. The odd, angular shapes that make up these two figures (of children?) presumably are meant to represent the shapes of rocks. Parr, one of the oldest graphic artists in 1960s Cape Dorset, began drawing when already in his sixties. His style is often compared to the drawings of young children, but it did evolve over the eight years that he drew until his death in 1969. This fascinating image is based on a slightly more complex felt pen composition that included two dogs. The stonecut print beautifully captures the lively, scratchy drawing style of Parr’s late period. The image has a slightly abstract, almost jazzy feel to it.

Note: this print was officially titled Innukshuit at Play, but this copy is one of several inscribed with the anglicized plural Innukshuks.

References: this image by Parr is illustrated in Leslie Boyd Ryan, Cape Dorset Prints: A Retrospective (Pomegranate, 2007) p. 75. For the original felt pen drawing by Parr see ccca. concordia.ca.

6 PITSEOLAK ASHOONA C.M. (1904-1983) f., PRINTMAKER: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) m., CAPE DORSET, Caribou and Birds, 1963 #21, stonecut print, 44/50, 22 x 26.75 in, 55.9 x 68 cm Est.: $1,500/2,500 Pitseolak gave free rein to her sense of whimsy in creating this delightful image. There are more than caribou and birds in this totemic composition; the bottom two figures resemble spirit creatures more than they do “regular” animals.

The print may derive from an early drawing by Pitseolak (c. 1960) and thus could be classified as “naïve,” but it does already point to the artist’s innate sense of design and composition that were so fundamental to her art. Funnily enough Caribou and Birds does put us in mind of the Brementown Musicians!

Reference: this image by Pitseolak is illustrated in the National Museum of Man travelling exhibition catalogue The Inuit Print (NMM, 1977) p. 81.

7 PUDLO PUDLAT (1916-1992) m., PRINTMAKER: ELIYAH POOTOOGOOK (1942-), CAPE DORSET, Eskimo Woman with Ulu, 1960 (1961 Dorset Series #16), stencil print, 46/50, 20 x 15 in, 50.8 x 38.1 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: a California private collection Pudlo’s witty, quirky sense of humour was much in evidence throughout his career. He obsessively drew oddly shaped muskoxen even though he had never seen one except from an airplane; he drew fanciful anthropomorphic airplanes and enjoyed playing visual games with other types of technology. And with Eskimo Woman with Ulu, he had fun with perspective. The disparity in scale between the woman’s enormous ulu and diminutive knife is echoed by her own large head and tiny limbs. Pudlo was the first Inuit artist to be granted a solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in 1990.

Note: This print by Pudlo was editioned in 1960 but was not released in a catalogued collection. Some copies were inscribed in 1960, others in 1961.

Reference: learn about this artist’s life, art, and career in Marie Routledge and Marion E. Jackson, Pudlo: Thirty Years of Drawing, National Gallery of Canada, 1990.

9 SIMON QISSUALU ALIQU (1926-d), CAPE SMITH/AKULIVIK, Captured Seal Trying to Escape, 1957, stone, wood and sinew, 5.5 x 12 x 5.5 in, 14 x 30.5 x 14 cm Est.: $1,500/2,500 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection; Isaacs/Innuit Gallery, Toronto; Hudson’s Bay Company Collection, Winnipeg This remarkably naturalistic carving shows us just how early the realistic aesthetic took hold in Puvirnituq. The main influencer in this style was the famous Charlie Sivuarapik (1911-1968) but it is clear from this work that Qissualu was also a major talent. The sculpture has a marvelous sense of action and drama as the seal, captured but not killed, struggles to escape its hunter. The work is noteworthy not only for the naturalism of the carving but also for its carefully incised details. It is interesting to note the identical patterning on the seal and the hunter’s clothing, indicating that his outfit is made entirely of sealskin.

Published: George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture/Sculpture Esquimaude (McClelland & Stewart, 1965), p. 69. Swinton’s landmark scholarly book was the first major publication devoted to Canadian Inuit art (note: the artist is identified here as Simon POV. Also published in George Swinton’s classic Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 339.

8 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, PROBABLY NUNAVIK (ARCTIC QUEBEC), Snarling Bear, early 1950s, stone, 5 x 10.5 x 3.5 in, 12.7 x 26.7 x 8.9 cm­ Est.: $4,000/6,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection It has been challenging to attribute even a community, let alone an artist, to this wonderful sculpture. Neither the style nor the stone are clear indicators in this case. Because of the work’s obviously early date we think it was most likely carved in Inukjuak or Puvirnituq, but we cannot rule out Cape Dorset either. Darlene Wight’s important Early Masters exhibition catalogue (WAG, 2006) illustrates bears by a number of famous artists from all three communities. We would suggest that this extraordinary work is at least as impressive as any of those fine examples.

As with many early Inuit masterpieces, this bear is both naïve and sophisticated, with a charming yet quite commanding presence. Whether by necessity or by design, the artist carved a dangerous-looking set of teeth from the stone rather than insetting ivory teeth or fangs. On the other hand he faintly incised whiskers – an unusual and charming touch that counterbalances the bear’s ferocity. Clearly the artist had an intimate knowledge of bears, respected them greatly, but also loved them.

10 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON), Seated Hunter, mid-late 1950s, stone and hide, 5.5 x 3.5 x 6 in, 14 x 8.9 x 15.2 cm Est.: $1,000/1,500 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection This superb small sculpture has not yet been attributed, but its own attributes are clear: elegance, naturalism, balance and poise, and beautiful finish. It is one of the loveliest examples of this motif that we can recall. We do hope that one day we will be able to give credit where credit is due.

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auta Saila is widely considered to be the consummate Inuit carver of polar bears. His respect and deep affection for the animal has been well documented in books and exhibition catalogues (see Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit, 2006, p. 90 for one example). Pauta loved carving too, and commented in a 1998 interview (when he was 82) that he still used axes, rasps and files (see Susan Gustavison, Northern Rock, McMichael, 1999, p. 63). He did not coin the phrase “dancing bear” – he probably would have preferred “balancing bear” – but he made the theme famous, iconic, and much copied.

This splendid sculpture is situated halfway between the two examples referenced below from the Sarick Collection at the AGO, both chronologically and stylistically. It is one of Pauta’s most pleasing compositions; the bear’s torso, upper limbs and head emerge from the bear’s left leg as organically as a tree grows from its trunk. Pauta’s massing and balancing of the sculptural forms is brilliant; the work is marvellous viewed from every angle. As seen in this artist’s other best works, the bear’s formidable power is expressed through a compression of form in the drawn-in limbs that appear ready to punch forth in every direction. We feel the latent energy as much as we see it.

One factor that made this Dancing Bear one of Pauta’s most beautiful and perfectly realized sculptures is the luscious, slightly translucent serpentinite from which it is carved. The white marble and brown-green Markham Bay stones did yield the artist some great works in the early-mid 1970s, but they were difficult to carve and did not lend themselves to fine detail and polish. Pauta must have felt truly liberated with this material.

11 PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009), CAPE DORSET, Dancing Bear, late 1970s, stone, ivory, 13.75 x 12 x 8 in, 34.9 x 30.5 x 20.3 cm Est.: $25,000/35,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection References: for other fine examples of balancing (“dancing”) bears by Pauta see Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction (Douglas & McIntyre, 1998) cover and p.

125 (from 1984 in the Sarick Collection, AGO); also Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern (2010) p. 117 (from 1973, also Sarick, AGO). See also Walker’s May 2012, Lot 24; Nov. 2012, Lots 22 and 77; 2013, Lot 15; Nov. 2015, Lot 203; Nov. 2017, Lot 62.

12 JOHN TIKTAK R.C.A. (1916-1981), RANKIN INLET, Head, c. 1965-66, stone, signed in syllabics, 7.25 x 7 x 4 in, 18.4 x 17.8 x 10.2 cm Est.: $10,000/15,000 Provenance: a Montreal private collection It is worthwhile looking up the references listed below to get a sense of the importance Tiktak gave to this theme beginning around 1965. There are several somewhat later and more crudely carved but no less striking heads by the artist as well, in addition to a number of impressive face clusters. The importance of heads and faces in Tiktak’s figural sculptures should not be overlooked either; they are often oversize and crucially important in giving his figures meaning and psychological power (see Lot 44).

This Head is one of Tiktak’s most elegant versions, a masterpiece dating from what we believe to be the pinnacle of his career, a short two-year span c. 1965-66. 1965 was the year in which Tiktak carved one of the most sublimely beautiful sculptures ever created by a Canadian artist, his Mother and Child in the AGO collection. Head is sophisticated, cool, and stately. Like most sculptures by Tiktak it bears the marks of the hand tools used in its manufacture, yet it is remarkably refined in its overall appearance. Moreover it has a timeless quality that transcends the category “Inuit art.”

References: for other fine examples of single heads by Tiktak see Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit (Heard Museum, 2006) cat. 120 (also illustrated in Walker’s Nov. 2015, Lot 51); George Swinton, Tiktak: Sculptor from Rankin Inlet, N.W.T. (Gallery OneOne-One, Univ. of Manitoba, 1970) cat. 30 (also ill. in T-D Bank, The Eskimo Art Collection of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, 1972, cat. 46); Bernadette Driscoll, Rankin Inlet/Kangirlliniq (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1981) cat. 47; Darlene Coward Wight, The Winrob Collection of Inuit Sculpture (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2008) p. 100 (also in Norman Zepp, Pure Vision, Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986 cat. 46); George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 8, 648.

For an impressive Janus-faced head by the artist see Walker’s May 2018, Lot 76.

13 LUCY TASSEOR TUTSWEETOK (1934-2012), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Family, c. 1970-72, stone, signed in syllabics, 6 x 7 x 2 in, 15.2 x 17.8 x 5.1 cm Est.: $3,500/5,000 Provenance: a Toronto private collection Although Lucy Tasseor and her good friend John Pangnark (see Lots 31 and 33) often worked together and shared a similar aesthetic, their sculptures are easily distinguishable. For one thing Pangnark carved single figures almost exclusively while Tasseor carved mostly figural groups. Also Pangnark was more focused on strictly formal concerns as he strove to strip away more and more “unessential detail” while Tasseor’s interest lay more in the subject matter and theme, specifically representing the strength of family bonds. Tasseor’s greatest works embrace Norman Zepp’s “Pure Vision” aesthetic while never losing sight of the physicality of the human face and figure.

Family is a superb example of Tasseor’s early classic style. She allows the natural shard-like shape of the stone to determine the overall form of the sculpture. She works with rather than against the material, creating content and meaning out of the undulating masses of the stone. Materiality becomes metaphor: the figure of the mother literally is the mountain that holds this family together; she is the foundation that gives it structure and meaning. And yet despite its materialty, it’s very “stoneness,” Family is carved with finesse and love. It is a composition of the utmost lyricism and beauty and strength.

References: for similar works by the artist see Darlene Wight, The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1987) cat. 37 or Norman Zepp, Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit (Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986) cat. 36; Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Collection of Inuit Art (Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983) pp. 160; Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection (Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010) p. 158. See also Walker’s Nov. 2015, Lot 33; Nov. 2016, Lot 7; Nov. 2017, Lot 94.

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atanniq could be considered the “elder statesman” of Baker Lake sculpture. Furthermore his inclusion in Norman Zepp’s Pure Vision catalogue cemented his reputation as one of the most important sculptors in the Kivalliq (Keewatin) region.

Tatanniq is renowned for his beautiful depictions of animals, especially muskoxen, but it is his important representations of human subjects that have reached the heights of the sublime. We think especially of works such as Mother and Child of 1970, Fox Woman of 1970, and Woman of 1973 (see Zepp); his Mother and Two Children (Walker’s Nov. 2013); and another Fox Woman (Walker’s May 2016).

Tatanniq began carving in the early 1960s and reached the height of his powers in the early 1970s. He helped to create the Baker Lake sculptural aesthetic but stood slightly apart from its mainstream as well; Tatanniq’s works tend to be more crisply carved, smaller and less massive, and quieter in tone than works by many of his colleagues.

Woman with a Child in her Pouch is one of Tatanniq’s most gorgeous depictions of Inuit womanhood, one of his larger depictions of single figures. The woman leans slightly forward as she puts her hands back to adjust the weight of the child asleep in her rear pouch. It is clear that she is carrying a toddler not an infant, if the size of the bulge at her back is any indication, so the weight is probably considerable. The overall form of the work is bulky but not ponderous; in fact the composition is elegantly balanced on quite small feet. The mother’s voluminous amautiq is depicted as a series of large, sensuous volumes, with particular emphasis on the parka’s capacious hood and pouch. The woman’s exquisite, serene face is crisply and delicately carved and subtly incised. And as with the greatest of Baker Lake sculptures, the surface treatment of the stone is marvellous; the surface has been brought to a satin sheen yet still reveals the marks of fine sandpaper. Baker Lake sculpture does not get any better than this.

14 GEORGE TATANNIQ (1910-1991), BAKER LAKE, Woman with a Child in her Pouch, c. 1970, stone, 10.75 x 5.5 x 6.5 in, 27.2 x 14.1 x 16 cm Est.: $10,000/15,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection References: for a selection of great works see the section on the artist in Norman Zepp, Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit (Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986) pp. 120-129.

For important human figures by Tatanniq see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92) fig. 681; Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection (AGO, 2010) pp. 130131. See also Walker’s Nov. 2011, Lot 90; Nov. 2013, Lot 29; May 2016, Lot 11.

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s with Kenojuak’s The Enchanted Owl, from the same year, this iconic image was printed in two different colours. The first half of the edition was printed in yellow, the second in an orange-red. Apparently the decision was not intentional for this print; the print shop simply ran out of yellow ink and was obliged to switch to red! Thus was born the one print that could be said to truly rival The Enchanted Owl in terms of its imagery and its powerful graphic punch. This crisply printed red copy of The Woman Who Lives in the Sun has the same impact as the day it was printed; the brilliant color has lost none of its intensity.

The idea of the sun as the giver of life, light, joy, and abundance is especially poignant in the Arctic, where the sun is absent so much of the year. This splendid image reflects Inuit belief in the distinctly feminine nature of the sun, emphasized and made literal by means of the striking traditional women’s chin tattoos which radiate down from the sun-woman’s mouth. The concept of the sun’s womanhood no doubt stems from the famous Inuit story of a sister and brother who unwittingly committed incest. Filled with shame, the sister fled with a lighted torch, pursued by her brother, whose torch was soon extinguished. The two rose up to the heavens where she was transformed into the sun and he into the moon.

After the death of her beloved husband Johnniebo in 1972, Kenojuak claimed that this image and several others were actually his. Terry Ryan, who had bought the original drawing directly from Kenojuak, remained convinced that its style was clearly hers (personal communication, 2012). We agree; while the original drawing is lost, the two contemporaneous drawings referenced below (which are Kenojuak’s) incorporate an almost identical sun image. Furthermore, the radiating rays of the sun closely resemble the radiating feathers of The Enchanted Owl.

15 KENOJUAK ASHEVAK C.C. R.C.A. (1927-2013) f., PRINTMAKER: LUKTA QIATSUK (1928-2004) m., CAPE DORSET, The Woman Who Lives in the Sun, 1960 #23, stonecut print, 36/50, 19.5 x 25.75 in, 49.5 x 65.4 cm Est.: $35,000/50,000 Provenance: a Toronto private collection References: this famous image by Kenojuak is widely illustrated, including in Ernst Roch ed., Arts of the Eskimo: Prints (Signum/Oxford, 1974) cover and p. 37; in the National Museum of Man travelling exhibition catalogue The Inuit Print (NMM, 1977) p. 59; also in Leslie Boyd Ryan, Cape Dorset Prints: A Retrospective (Pomegranate, 2007) p. 53; and in James Houston, Eskimo Prints (Longman, 1971) p. 38. For two related graphite drawings by Kenojuak see Marion Jackson and Judith Nasby, Contemporary Inuit Drawings (Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, 1987) cat. 32; and Jean Blodgett, Kenojuak (Mintmark/Firefly, 1985) p. 47.

For a version of this work printed in yellow see Walker’s Nov. 2014, Lot 15.

16 JESSIE OONARK, O.C. R.C.A. (1906-1985), BAKER LAKE, Untitled (Fish Riders and Fish-Woman), c. 1978, coloured pencil drawing, signed in syllabics, 22 x 30 in, 56 x 76 cm Est.: $6,000/9,000 Provenance: a Toronto private collection.

Jessie Oonark was an artistic genius but she probably had a less than perfect knowledge of Inuit legends; her daughter, the famous artist Victoria Mamnguqsualuk, likely had a better grasp. Possibly Oonark remembered snatches of stories and then worked them into a kind of imagined iconography of shamans, fish-people, bird-people, animal-riders etc. In other words she used stories truly as springboards for her visual imagination rather than trying to illustrate them.

A case in point: an Oonark print from 1981 (#6) titled The Fishmaker Made Kiviuk a Fish to Ride is quite similar to the top register of this drawing. In her telling of the Qiviuq episode in the catalogue Oonark deviates considerably from typical accounts, including her daughter’s exhaustive and rich ones. In both the print and this drawing Oonark’s imagery deviates even further. In the end, it is the imagery that is important and truly exciting.

And exciting it is. Untitled (Fish Riders and Fish-Woman) is fascinating, slightly mystifying, slyly humorous, and stunning.

The four humans joyfully ride the fish as if it were a fast sled, and the fish is equally joyful as if it were a fast sled dog; the front rider hooks the fish just as he is himself hooked by the next rider back. The fish-woman below is simply dazzling, one of Oonark’s most beautiful imaginary beings. Oonark designed various fish-women over the years but this one leaves us speechless.

Brava Oonark.

References: for a drawing with related subject matter see Marion Jackson and Judith Nasby, Contemporary Inuit Drawings (Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, 1987) cat. 60. See also Walker’s Nov. 2012, Lot 45. For a related print see Baker Lake catalogue 1981 #6. For another important Oonark drawing depicting humans riding on animals see Composition (Fantasy Sleds and Bird) from the Albrecht Collection, in Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit, Heard Museum, 2006, cat. 49 (also illustrated in Walker’s May 2016, Lot 87).

17 JESSIE OONARK, O.C. R.C.A. (1906-1985), BAKER LAKE, Untitled, 1976, coloured pencil drawing, signed in syllabics, 22 x 30 in, 56 x 76 cm Est.: $3,500/5,000 Provenance: a Toronto private collection Oonark converted to the teachings of the Anglican Church in 1927. She was baptized in 1944 and chose the Christian name Jessie; she and her husband Kabloonak were given a Christian marriage in 1946. Christian imagery began occasionally appearing in her drawings in the mid 1960s. Throughout the rest of her career, Oonark sometimes mixed Christian themes with traditional Inuit spiritual ones, and occasionally created works (primarily drawings) with purely Christian subject matter.

Although devout, Oonark’s knowledge of Christian iconography would have been limited. As with her Inuit supernatural and legend imagery, we sometimes need to speculate. We would suggest two possible themes for this splendid drawing. The first is John the Baptist (left) and Christ, flanking an angel. The second possibility is a depiction of the Trinity: the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit (represented by an angel rather than a dove). While the figure of an angel is unusual in either scenario, it makes perfect sense if one is familiar with Oonark’s compositional style; furthermore an angel as a stand-in for a bird or birdwoman is also consistent with Oonark’s personal iconography. This drawing is full of lovely touches: the way the figures float on the page; the curious treatment of their hands and feet; the prongs projecting from the angel’s head almost like small antlers; the design and fringe at the hem of the angel’s robe; and the small semi-circular cartouche designed for the artist’s signature. It’s a magical drawing, evidence of Oonark’s devotion to her chosen faith.

References: for a discussion of Christian imagery in Oonark’s work see Jean Blodgett and Marie Bouchard, Jessie Oonark: A Retrospective (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1986) pp. 44-48. The catalogue illustrates Oonark’s 1978 drawing for her famous 1984 print Giver of Life (cat. 79) and other works (figs. 9-11). See also Lot 64 by Oonark.

18 JOE TALIRUNILI (1893-1976), PUVIRNITUQ, Migration Boat, early-mid 1970s, stone, skin, wood, thread, signed “JOE” on label, 11 x 15 x 7 in, 27.9 x 38.1 x 17.8 cm Est.: $150,000/250,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection For a written version of Talirunili’s adventure see John D. Furneaux, “The desperate journey behind an Eskimo sculpture” in M22 (Autumn 1974), pp. 20-23, published by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Furneaux had been Joe Talirunili’s friend since 1960 and commissioned the artist to carve a Migration Boat for him in 1964. An edited version of the article can also be found in the Walker’s May 2014 catalogue.

References: for comparable migration boats by Talirunili see Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Collection of Inuit Art (Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983) pp. 27, 209 (AGO collection); Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction (Douglas & McIntyre, 1998) p. 84 (Canadian Museum of History collection); Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection (Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010) pp. vi and 112 (AGO collection). There are also several examples illustrated in the landmark monograph by Marybelle Myers, Joe Talirunili: “a grace beyond the reach of art” (FCNQ, 1977). See also Walker’s May 2014, Lot 70, and Nov. 2016, Lot 49; also Waddington’s November 2012, Lot 98 and June 2012, Lot 102.

J

oe Talirunili, arguably the most celebrated artist in the region of Nunavik (Arctic Quebec), began carving in 1950, one of the first Puvirnituq hunters to respond to James Houston’s encouragement. A selection of his earliest known carvings is featured in Darlene Wight’s Early Masters catalogue (WAG, 2006), pp. 108-111.

His first depictions of the Migration appeared in 1964, in both sculptures and stonecut prints. Although not a legend but actually a true tale of catastrophe, marine adventure and survival that involved thirteen families including Joe’s own, the story attained mythic proportions in the artist’s life and work. Joe regularly carved hunters, women, and owls as well as a few other subjects, but it is his Migration series that has quite rightly captured the public’s imagination.

Each Migration Boat is essentially unique, with its particular shape and size, style, and cast of characters. Perhaps according to Joe’s shifting memory of the event, the number of travelers varies from the low twenties to the low forties. Joe carved perhaps two-dozen versions of the Migration over about a dozen years. See the references for illustrations of Migration Boats in various public collections. Several late versions are illustrated in Marybelle Myers’ book Joe Talirunili: “a grace beyond the reach of art.” These all date from late in the artist’s career; Talirunili spent the last two years of his life in working at a feverish pace, carving print blocks and dozens of sculptures, including several versions of the Migration and other marine adventures.

As he grew older, Joe’s style had grown increasingly rustic in nature.

Based on its style we are dating this Migration Boat to the early-mid 1970s, in other words within striking distance of the end of the artist’s life and career. This version in particular captures the psychological and physical intensity of the ordeal suffered by Talirunili and his small community. The sculpture’s expressionistic carving style suits the makeshift quality of the umiaq itself; the figures and faces powerfully communicate the panic of the families on board as they struggle for their very survival.

This Migration Boat is special not only for the emotional impact of its carving style but also for the unique combination of certain features and elements found here and there in various other versions. The skin sail has a patch similar to the CMH version – while this could be simply a patch on the skin he used for the sculpture, it might represent a repair made to the original sail. The rifle depicts an important supernatural episode near the end of Joe’s story, in which the female shaman Aullajuk instructs two men to shoot at the island so that the boat can land (because the island kept receding as they struggled to approach it), as can be seen in the Klamer and other versions.

The kayak at the rear of the umiaq is a rare element. The labels used for the artist’s signature are found on several versions including the Sarick example. The two instances of Talirunili’s charming folk-art style “native repairs” of broken stone by means of twine or thread are rare in his boats but are found in several of his smaller sculptures. And perhaps the most important feature of this version is the depiction of three women with infants in their amautiq hoods; the inclusion of even one such mother is very rare in Talirunili’s Migrations. And finally – although we admit that this is speculation – we cannot help wondering if the small child peeking out from the port bow is not a portrait of the young Joe Talirunili himself.

All in all, this spectacular and poignant sculpture is a rare and highly important version of the most iconic series of sculptures in Inuit art.

19 FABIEN OOQAAQ (1923-1992), KUGAARUK (PELLY BAY), Fisherman Carrying his Catch, 1964, ivory, 3.5 x 1.5 x 1.25 in, 8.9 x 3.8 x 3.2 cm Est.: $3,000/4,500 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa Oogaaq began carving around 1960, becoming perhaps the greatest of the Pelly Bay ivory miniaturists. Apparently he was also considered to be the best drum dancer in the community. Little is known about his early life beyond the fact that he was adopted by a close relative after his entire family was wiped out in a mysterious accident. Fisherman Carrying his Catch is quite justly the most famous of Oogaaq’s carvings. It radiates an air of monumentality, solidity, and stoicism that belies its small size and the precious quality of its material.

Exhibited and published: this work was included in the famous international touring exhibition Sculpture/Inuit of 1971-73, and is illustrated in the catalogue (Canadian Eskimo Arts Council/University of Toronto Press, 1971) cat.

106 (illus. in colour and b&w). Also published in George Swinton’s classic Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 212.

References: for a similar work by Oogaaq see Darlene Coward Wight, Art & Expression of the Netsilik (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2000), cat. 10 (also ill. in Wight, Creation and Transformation, WAG, 2012, cat. 24). For another gem by this artist see Walker’s Nov. 2014, Lot 104.

20 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, POSSIBLY IGLOOLIK AREA, Woman in her Amautiq, Leggings and Boots, c. 1890-1920, ivory, stone and colour, 3 x 1.25 x 1.5 in, 7.6 x 3.1 x 3.8 cm Est.: $3,000/4,500 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa In Historic times (the 19th century and possibly into the early 20th) Iglulingmiut women wore an interesting style of long boot whose design included quite large side pouches, used for extra storage. The pouches on this carving are distinctive enough to suggest the Igloolik region as its source (although the design was not exclusive to this area). The carving was originally thought to have originated in the northwest coast of Hudson Bay, which is not too far away.

This important Historic Period carving is one of the most stunning early artworks we have seen. While many early ivories are charming and historically interesting, few can match this small sculpture for sheer artistic merit. One fascinating feature of this work is the addition of stone soles to the boots. These may represent darker, tougher sealskin, or perhaps the even tougher bearded seal or walrus, used as soles.

References: for an 1874 lithograph depicting Iglulik women wearing leggings with exaggerated pouches and a replica pair see Jill Oakes and Rick Riewe, Our Boots: An Inuit Women’s Art (Douglas & McIntyre, 1995) p. 77. For a pattern drawing and a replica pair see Betty Kobayashi Issenman, Sinews of Survival: The Living Legacy of Inuit Clothing (UBC Press, 1997) p. 131.

21 MARK TUNGILIK (1913-1986), NAUJAAT (REPULSE BAY), Bow Hunter and Two Birds, 1968, ivory, stone and sinew, signed in syllabics and with disc no., 4.75 x 2.25 x 4.25 in, 12.1 x 5.7 x 10.8 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa Mark Tungilik is probably the most famous Inuit ivory miniature carver. He was born in the Spence Bay (Taloyoak) area (in 1904, his daughter believes) then moved to Pelly Bay and finally Naujaat. Roman Catholic missionaries had been encouraging local Inuit to carve Inuit and Christian imagery in ivory already in the early 1940s, so Tungilik was already a skilled artist by the time James Houston showed up in 1950 to encourage carving production.

Bow Hunter and Two Birds is a classic example of the 1960s ivory miniature genre; a delicately rendered and beautifully balanced composition. Tungilik’s artistry is apparent not only in the carving of the figures themselves but also in the creation of an enchanting little self-enclosed world.

References: for ivory hunting and fishing scenes by Tungilik dating as far back as the 1940s see Lorraine Brandson, Carved from the Land (Eskimo Museum, Churchill) 1994, pp. 90 and 142; Darlene Coward Wight, The Jerry Twomey Collection (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2003) p. 109.

22 HENRY EVALUARDJUK (1923-2007), IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY), Waving Polar Bear Seated on a Rock, mid-late 1970s, stone, signed “Henry” and in syllabics, 19 x 5 x 6 in, 48.3 x 12.7 x 15.2 cm Est.: $7,000/10,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection; Waddington’s June 1981, Lot 480 There are two great carvers of bears in the history of Inuit art: Henry Evaluardjuk and Pauta Saila (see Lot 11). Evaluardjuk never really spoke about his art or his love of bears, but Pauta shared his thoughts about polar bears on several occasions: Polar bears are playful when there’s nobody around. They’re playful, but you have to look at them without letting them know. They’re playful as long as they don’t see a human around, or the dogs chasing them. (Artist interview with Ingo Hessel in Arctic Spirit, Heard Museum, 2006, p. 90.)

Polar bears are just like people. They can do many things that humans do. They can stand or sit, like us. They look around, just like we do. (Artist interview with Dorothy Harley Eber in “Talking with the Artists,” In the Shadow of the Sun, CMC, 1993, p. 425.)

Evaluardjuk typically depicted his bear subjects as lethal hunters, stalking unseen prey, with powerful necks extended. Occasionally he carved them as standing, much as humans do. Only very seldom do they gesture, and we know of only one other example of a small bear seated on a rock.

This Waving Polar Bear, along with the two examples referenced below, are rare examples of Evaluardjuk bears with human-like personalities and touches of humour and real charm. Equally extraordinary is the scale of this work, one of the largest sculptures that this artist ever produced.

References: for an exceptional standing whale bone Gesturing Bear by Evaluardjuk see Walker’s May 2012, Lot 47. For a similarly fine but much smaller work by the artist see Walker’s May 2018, Lot 1. For a large example of a walking bear by Evaluardjuk see Walker’s Nov. 2017, Lot 91.

23 NUYALIAQ QIMIRPIK (1937-2007) m., KIMMIRUT (LAKE HARBOUR), Horned Spirit and Owl, c. 1968-69, stone and antler, signed “NUYALIAK” and with disc number, 17 x 16 x 13.25 in, 43.2 x 40.6 x 33.6 cm Est.: $4,000/6,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection Most people think of Nuyaliaq Qimirpik as a carver of muskoxen But for a period of perhaps no more than three years in the late 1960s, a small group of carvers in Kimmirut, led by Nuyaliaq, created a remarkable group of spirit carvings, apparently at the request of a local schoolteacher named Tony Whitbourne who was buying carvings for the government for a time – and then stopped. The same sort of spiritual flowering of art had occurred in nearby Cape Dorset in the early 1960s, in both graphic art and sculpture; however that florescence was more sustained, is far better documented, and never completely died out. Nuyaliaq’s Horned Spirit and Owl is one of the most important examples of this style that we have seen. It is every bit as poetic and haunting as the Cape Dorset examples we know and admire, and it is incredibly charming to boot. Wonderful stuff.

References: for other fine spirit sculptures by this artist see Bernadette Driscoll, Baffin Island (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1983) cat. 57, or Darlene Wight, The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1987) cat. 134; Maria von Finckenstein ed., Celebrating Inuit Art 1948-1970 (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1999) p. 129; George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 517. For a similar work by Nuyaliaq’s brother Shorty Killiktee see Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction (Douglas & McIntyre, 1998) p. 93.

J

essie Oonark is the most celebrated Baker Lake artist, a recognized genius in both the graphic and textile arts. Her drawings, prints and wall hangings can be found in virtually every major public and private collection of Inuit art in the world and have been published extensively. Her largest hanging (373 x 601 cm), an untitled work from 1972-73, hangs in the foyer of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

This highly important untitled hanging from c. 1970 is a key work in understanding Oonark’s transition away from narrative works (typically illustrating hunting and traditional camp life), towards more structured (and often quite large) works often displaying spiritual and symbolic imagery. Interestingly, we have found no published examples from this same short period – perhaps 12-18 months – that correspond exactly in terms of both style and imagery. Two hangings in the WAG catalogue (cats. 39 and 41) come close (but not in imagery) and are almost the same size. In other words this year was Oonark’s fulcrum: her time for rapid experimentation and a veritable explosion of creativity.

We know that Oonark was experimenting with images of bird-people as early as 1967-68, as can be seen in one of her small notebook drawings (see Blodgett and Bouchard, WAG, 1986, cat. 19), and the 1968 print drawing for Dream of the Bird Woman (ibid. cat. 25); the print of the same name was published in 1970. In an unpublished 1983 interview with Marion Jackson, Oonark identified the Bird Woman in the 1970 print as the bird-wife of the wandering hero Qiviuq, with two of her children. (A 1970 hanging in the Sarick Collection at the AGO includes very similar fish-bird-human imagery; see ccca.concordia.ca.)

Untitled (Spirit Figures) is a brilliant synthesis of Oonark’s new found sense of design (incorporating an emerging symmetry and the balancing and interplay of colours and shapes) and imagery (incorporating shamanic and transformation imagery as well as the symbolism of the ulu form). We cannot think of another of her major works that focuses so heavily on birdhuman imagery; these hybrid figures (particularly the bird-mothers) are as charming as they are poetic. Untitled (Spirit Figures) also has a spontaneity that in later textile works by Oonark – as brilliant as they are – is subsumed somewhat into a more hieratic sense of order. A jewel.

24 JESSIE OONARK, O.C., R.C.A. (1906-1985), BAKER LAKE, Untitled (Spirit Figures), c. 1970, stroud, felt, embroidery floss and thread, signed in syllabics, 46.25 x 54.5 in, 117.5 x 138.2 cm (framed) Est.: $40,000/60,000 Provenance: a Toronto private collection; Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto; Harry and Marcia Klamer Collection, Toronto Exhibited and published: Jessie Oonark: A Retrospective, Winnipeg Art Gallery, touring exhibition (1986-88), and published in the accompanying catalogue by Jean Blodgett and Marie Bouchard (WAG, 1986, p. 101).

References: for comparison purposes, for an important Oonark hanging of about one year earlier (1969) see Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit (Heard Museum, 2006) p. 165 (also reproduced in Walker’s Nov. 2015, Lot 114). For an important work featuring ulu shapes see Walker’s Nov. 2016, Lot 67. For other important works see Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction (Douglas & McIntyre, 1998) figs. 138, 142; Art Gallery of Ontario, The People Within (1976) cats. 45-56; Walker’s May 2017, Lot 82; and of course the Blodgett & Bouchard catalogue (see above).

25 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, TLINGIT, CHILKAT KWAAN, Chilkat Robe (Naaxein), c. 1880, wool, yellow cedar bark and dyes 52 x 68 in, 132 x 172 cm, mounted on cloth and framed Est.: $25,000/35,000 Provenance: a Toronto private collection; Equinox Gallery, Vancouver The technique of twined tapestry known as Chilkat weaving is one of the most complex styles of fabric decoration known in the world. Oral history tells us that the specialized braiding techniques that enable the weaving of circles and other rounded forms found in Northwest Coast two-dimensional design were developed by Nishga’a weavers in the Nass River valley, sometime around the middle of the eighteenth century. Within a few generations, basic design forms had been mastered and refined into accurate reproductions of painted crest images in woven form. Before the first decades of the nineteenth century, the characteristic five-sided border shape and distribution of complex formline imagery had evolved into the classic form as seen in the subject work. The weavings were made to duplicate design forms painted on wood panels with just over half of a symmetrical design represented. The weaver measures off this pattern board row by row to recreate the interconnected design forms of the painting.

Pattern boards were traditionally painted by men trained in the profession by master artists before them. Many unique patterns were used to create one-of-a-kind images in the first half of the nineteenth century, of which a number of examples survive in the world’s museums. By mid-century the pandemics of introduced diseases diminished the indigenous population, including skilled artists, and fewer unique pattern boards were being created. Single boards would be reproduced numerous times in weavings, sometimes with small changes adapted by the weaver. The lower center of the design field in this Naaxein is an example of that, where design elements from a different robe have been grafted into the mouth area of this weaving to distinguish it from others using the same or a similar original pattern. Here the design represents a diving whale; the head of the whale is shown at the bottom, and the tail across the top of the field.

Steven C. Brown References: Cheryl Samuel, The Chilkat Dancing Blanket (Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1990); see also the section on Chilkat blankets in George Thorton Emmons and Frederica de Laguna, The Tlingit Indians (AMNH and Univ. of Washington Press, 1991) pp. 224-233. For another example see Walker’s May 2017, Lot 53.

26 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, HAIDA OR TSIMSHIAN, Model Totem Pole, c. 1890, wood, 23 x 2.5 x 3, 58.4 x 6.4 x 7.6 cm (25 in, 64 cm high including base) Est.: $20,000/30,000 Provenance: a Montreal private collection; Pierre et Claude Vérité Collection, Paris. Pierre Vérité, who began selling (and secretly collecting) tribal art in the 1920s and opened a gallery in 1934, became one of the most renowned tribal dealers in the world. Pablo Picasso and André Breton were among the artists and famous collectors who purchased masks and sculptures from him. Pierre Vérité’s personal collection was amassed mostly in the 1930s; the collection was passed on to his son Claude.

Totem poles and models have been the most recognizable icons of Northwest Coast material culture for over 150 years. The curio trade sought to capitalize on the marketing of take-home examples of the grand monumental cedar sculptures that so impressed an increasing number of visitors to the region, and indigenous carvers of all skill levels stepped up to fill the demand. The heyday of model totem poles emerged and expanded in the fourth quarter of the nineteenth century and thrived into the twentieth and twenty-first with few pauses in production. Seldom do totem pole models predate about 1870, though a few examples of model-size poles or houseposts exist from the early historic period that indicate it was an old concept. One famous carver’s story, transcribed by Tlingit ethnologist Louis Shotridge circa 1918, relates that while journeying by canoe to the distant village in which he was to carve, the artist created models of a set of houseposts from thick cottonwood bark (an easily sculptable material), which displayed multiple images representing the histories of clan lineages he was told by an elder spokesman en route.

The figures on this model pole are a seated bear-human above a raven with a downturned beak and its upturned tail feathers held within it. The base of the tail is a large humanoid-bird face, which sits between the ears of a bear-mother image fondly holding two small cubs at her sides. The head of a large frog peers up from below. The composition and style of the carved figures exhibits affinity with historical examples from both Haida and Tsimshian artists. Compositionally, with its partly overlapping images, the work appears more Haida. The sculpture of the face in each figure, though simplified from classic totemic forms, appears to be more Tsimshian in style.

Steven C. Brown

27 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, HAIDA, Ship Panel Pipe, c. 1840-1860, argillite, 4.25 x 14 x .5 in, 10.8 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm, mounted on a custom metal stand Est.: $15,000/20,000 Provenance: a B.C. private collection A few of the earliest Haida ship panel pipes may have been created in the 1820s. By the 1840s Euro-American ships and their crews had become popular subjects for Haida argillite carvers, supplanting panel pipes with traditional Haida motifs. The artists found the exotic look of the ships themselves, their captains and sailors, and their cargoes fascinating. Ship panel pipes became highly prized trade goods, the subjects themselves providing a ready market for these fascinating creations.

Leslie Drew writes: “For sheer surrealism in the realm of panel pipes, nothing can compare with those that combine both European-American and Haida motifs, in a cross-fertilization of artistic concepts” (pp. 180-181).

The bow of the ship is adorned with a scrolled billet head, a common feature of sailing vessels from the period, and cluster of berries. Tobacco leaves decorate the keel halfway to the stern (tobacco was of course the very raison d’être for pipes and was thus an important motif, even though these elaborate works of art had become pipes in name only!). The woman at the bow and the man at the stern lean against the jumping legs of insects, probably grasshoppers, very much like the example illustrated in Macnair and Hoover. The woman at the centre sits leaning against the ship’s deckhouse. Unlike the various animals that typically adorn ship panel pipes – mostly dogs and birds - the two insects are carved fully in the traditional Haida style. This hybrid style is what makes this fine pipe particularly noteworthy and “surreal.”

References: for examples of panel pipes of hybrid Euro-American and Haida motifs see Leslie Drew and Douglas Wilson, Argillite: Art of the Haida (Hancock House, 1980) pp. 181-182. See a pipe fragment with a related motif in Peter L. Macnair and Alan L. Hoover, The Magic Leaves: A History of Haida Argillite Carving (Royal BC Museum, 1984/2002) fig. 56.

O

suitok Ipeelee vies with Karoo Ashevak of Taloyoak (19401974) for the honour of being considered the most brilliant and imaginative Inuit sculptor of all time. His technical mastery of stone is legendary, and the scope of his visual imagination is impressive. Osuitok could be – and was – a carver of breathtaking naturalistic beauty one week, and a daring abstract sculptor the next.

In Jean Blodgett’s article on Osuitok she wrote: “He pays tribute to the Inuit woman’s ability to fish, sew and care for children, and he frankly admires their physical form” (p. 46). Blodgett’s article illustrates an early example, the famous and striking Fisherwoman from 1963, in the TD-Bank Collection. The TD sculpture is stunning but it was carved before Osuitok’s mature style fully blossomed. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s this artist created important masterpieces in all of his favourite subject categories: birds, caribou, and women.

Our Fisherwoman, from the late 1970s, is not the largest known example but it is the most refined that we can recall ever seeing. The woman’s facial features and body proportions are exquisite, and we love the way Osuitok shows off both the clothing and the woman’s figure; her sense of balance and movement is lively and graceful; and the carving and finishing are sensuous and flawlessly executed. This Fisherwoman is poised, full of joy, and drop-dead gorgeous. Even the fish that she so proudly holds is an astonishingly beautiful small sculpture. Wow.

28 OSUITOK IPEELEE R.C.A. (1923-2005) m., CAPE DORSET, Fisherwoman, c. 1978-80, stone and antler, signed in syllabics, 16.25 x 13 x 6.75 in, 41.3 x 33 x 17.1 cm Est.: $30,000/45,000 Provenance: an American private collection References: for other excellent examples of fisherwomen by Osuitok see Toronto-Dominion Bank, The Eskimo Art Collection of the TorontoDominion Bank (1972) cat. 73; also illus. in Jean Blodgett, “Osuitok Ipeelee” in Alma Houston, ed., Inuit Art: An Anthology, Watson & Dwyer, 1988, p. 46. See also Walker’s May 2012, Lot 17; Nov. 12, Lot 60; May 2016, Lot 48.

29 JOSEPHIE POOTOOGOOK (1887-1958), PRINTMAKER: KANANGINAK POOTOOGOOK R.C.A. (1935-2010) m., CAPE DORSET, Joyfully I See Ten Caribou, 1959 #29, linocut and stencil print (inscribed as stonecut), 36/50, 12 x 17.75 in, 30.5 x 45.1 cm Est.: $6,000/9,000 Provenance: a Toronto private collection; Waddington’s, Toronto The 1959 Cape Dorset inaugural print collection was the product of intense experimentation by artists and printmakers, organized by James Houston. Although Kananginak is officially listed as the printmaker for this famous image, in Lalonde and Ryan’s 2009 catalogue (see below), he explained the actual extent of the collaborative effort on this print: Joyfully I See Ten Caribou was done by paper stencil and by floor tile. The black areas were done by tiles. This print, which my father Pootoogook drew, was the very first one done [of the 1959 collection]. My father drew the pictures on the paper, James Houston did the tracing on the tile, somebody else cut it, and Osheweetook [Osuitok] and I put the colours on (p. 18).

Joyfully I See Ten Caribou and the other seven prints by Pootoogook made him an instant star, though sadly that tribute was posthumous. The print possesses the kind of simple graphic quality and direct communication with the viewer that made it an instant icon. The stencilled areas brilliantly frame the image’s most salient features: the excited hunter’s face and hands. These marvellously creased raised hands do double duty, as they also resemble the tines of caribou antlers.

References: this famous image by Pootoogook has been widely illustrated including in James Houston, Eskimo Prints (Longman, 1971) p. 33; in Leslie Boyd Ryan, Cape Dorset Prints: A Retrospective (Pomegranate, 2007) p. 76, and in the National Museum of Man travelling exhibition catalogue The Inuit Print (NMM, 1977) p. 54. Also illustrated (along with Pootoogook’s original drawing) in Christine Lalonde and Leslie Boyd Ryan, Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset 1959/2009 (National Gallery of Canada, 2009) p. 37.

30 KENOJUAK ASHEVAK C.C. R.C.A. (1927-2013) f., PRINTMAKER: KANANGINAK POOTOOGOOK R.C.A. (1935-2010) m., CAPE DORSET, Dogs See the Spirits*, 1960 #19, stencil print, 19 x 24 in, 48.3 x 61 cm, framed Est.: $9,000/12,000 Provenance: a Montreal private collection With the exception of the Inuit sea goddess (known locally as Taleelayu) Kenojuak did not often portray myths or legends in her work. However early in her career she created numerous images that have supernatural or shamanistic content.

Kenojuak was probably the first woman to take up drawing in Cape Dorset, in 1957 or 1958. No doubt spurred by the success of her first print Rabbit Eating Seaweed of 1959 (based on her sewn sealskin bag), Kenojuak utilized her design and sewing skills by making and arranging patterns to help her imagine and create new ideas and shapes. As Jean Blodgett noted in her important book Kenojuak (Mintmark/Firefly, 1985), this technique is clearly evident in Dog Sees the Spirits, one of this artist’s most enchanting and beautiful images. It could be argued that 1960 was the creative year for Kenojuak. Her imagery was as varied as it was spectacular; it included emblematic works such as The Enchanted Owl and The Woman Who Lives in the Sun (Lot 15), as well as lyrical masterpieces such as Complex of Birds, Bird Fantasy, and Birds from the Sea. We can just imagine Kenojuak laying out and switching around her stencils until the outlines of the spirit figures reached dreamy perfection. The interplay of positive and negative shapes is almost magical as our eyes move effortlessly around the lazily meandering contours. The young printmaker Kananginak created marvelous pulsating stenciled effects that absolutely suit the image; the ethereal forms of the spirits contrast beautifully with the more crisply rendered figure of the barking dog.

References: this famous image by Kenojuak is illustrated in Ernst Roch ed., Arts of the Eskimo: Prints (Signum/Oxford, 1974) p. 35. *Note: This print is officially titled Dog Sees the Spirits, but a few copies (including this one) were inscribed as shown. Interestingly, the “error” shades but does not fundamentally change the meaning of the work.

31 JOHN PANGNARK (1920-1980), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Figure with Raised Arms, 1968, stone, signed in syllabics, 3.5 x 1.5 x 2.5 in, 8.9 x 3.8 x 6.3 cm Est.: $1,500/2,500 Provenance: a Quebec private collection; purchased in Arviat in 1968 by the current owner Published: this work is illustrated in George Swinton’s classic Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 621.

Figure with Raised Arms is one of two small masterpieces much admired by George Swinton at the home of the collector who had purchased them in Arviat in 1968 and 1969 respectively. He had them both photographed and published in his landmark 1972 book Sculpture of the Inuit. The companion piece was Lucy Tasseor’s Mother and Child (Swinton, 1972/92) fig. 609 (also ill. in Walker’s May 2018, Lot 86).

Tasseor’s work was quite small (4.75 in high); Figure with Raised Arms is even smaller, making it a true miniature. Pangnark’s sculptures were generally quite modest in scale – most can be picked up and caressed in the hand – but he carved relatively few miniatures.

This small gem is a transitional work in Pangnark’s stylistic evolution. The artist was still experimenting with his harder-edged geometric compositions, but was taking the first steps towards a shift to a softer, more minimalist aesthetic. Figure with Raised Arms is still easily recognizable as just that; the human proportions and simple, evocative gesture are clear. We do not need to search for clues that this is a human subject, yet all extraneous detail has been quietly, effortlessly stripped away. Like the carving by Tasseor, this work is perfection.

32 ANDY MIKI (1918-1983), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Resting Bird, c. 1968-70, stone, signed in syllabics, 5 x 7 x 2 in, 12.7 x 17.8 x 5.1 cm Est. $3,000/4,500 Provenance: a Hamilton private collection Andy Miki was a member of the inland Ennadai Lake Ihalmiut group of Caribou Inuit that included the future artists Elizabeth Nutaraaluk, Luke Anowtalik and his wife Mary Ayaq, Miki’s wife Mary Kahootsuak, and his brother Luke Hallauk.

Miki’s family was resettled in Whale Cove in the mid 1960s, and he began carving there before locating back to Eskimo Point (now Arviat) in 1969.

This work was carved either towards the end of his stay in Whale Cove or shortly after his return to Eskimo Point.

Regarded as one of the two great “minimalist” Arviat artists along with his colleague John Pangnark, Miki carved animal figures exclusively.

Like Pangnark’s early carvings, Miki’s early works are fairly representational. We have no trouble identifying Resting Bird as such; the bird’s body is fully formed although abstracted to the point that it is difficult to identify the species. In the bird’s subtle angularity we already see hints of Miki’s later style which, with its radical stylization and simplification, makes his animal figures very much more ambiguous in form and meaning.

Reference: for a similar bird by Miki see Walker’s May 2013, Lot 29.

33 JOHN PANGNARK (1920-1980), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Waving Figure, 1968, stone, signed in syllabics, 3.5 x 4 x 6 in, 8.9 x 10.2 x 15.2 cm Est.: $3,000/5,000 Provenance: a Quebec private collection; purchased in Arviat in 1968 by the current owner This superb abstract sculpture by Pangnark was purchased at the same time as his Figure with Raised Arms (Lot 31). Just as that sublime little work is an experiment in distillation of essential form and content, this larger sculpture is very much a radical experiment in abstraction and geometry. This fact is vital to the understanding the genius of this Arviat master. In 1968 Pangnark was an experimenter, an inventor of new forms, a pioneer.

His achievements are no less than those of Picasso or Brancusi in Paris.

Carve a human figure so that it resembles the head of an axe. Leave a hint of a hand, the traces of a face, the intimation of a parka hood. What do you have? Something entirely new. Angles, planes, curves, volumes.

And yet still a figure. Outstanding.

References: for numerous other works by Pangnark from the same period see George Swinton’s Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 56, 615-624. A somewhat later figure (1974) in the Sarick Collection at the AGO has a similarly pronounced backward lean (see Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, p. 126).

35 SHARKY NUNA (1918-1979) m., CAPE DORSET, Bird Couple, early-mid 1970s, stone, signed in syllabics, 5.5 x 4.5 x 5.25 in, 14 x 11.4 x 13.3 cm Est.: $600/900 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection Sharky Nuna began carving already in 1950. He had been working at a measured pace until the early 1970s when he was finally “discovered” and given five solo shows in Canada, the U.S. and Germany up to his death in 1979. His sculptures of birds are among the most elegant and poetic we have seen. This pair, in which one bird gently preens the other, is especially lovely.

References: for similar works by this artist see Walker’s May 2013, Lot 8; Walker’s May 2016, Lot 82

34 ABRAHAM ETUNGAT, R.C.A. (1911-1999), Bird with Upswept Wings, 1978, stone, signed in syllabics, 9 x 8 x 2.5 in, 22.9 x 20.3 x 6.4 cm Est.: 2,500/3,500 Provenance: a Montreal private collection Out on the land, I have seen birds resting. They’re so beautiful with wings raised, stretching. I’ve looked at birds in flight and thought about carving them, but it’s too difficult (see Blakeman below).

Abraham Etungat was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy in 1978 and was granted at least seven solo exhibitions in his lifetime. Although his subject matter was quite varied (animals of all types as well as humans) it is his birds that have become famous with collectors. Depictions of birds in this particular pose by Etungat are popularly known as “Birds of Spring” in reference to the three large bronze replicas (in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary) of a carving so titled by the artist. This graceful version is particularly refined in its execution and positively majestic in its pose.

References: for other beautiful examples of Etungat birds see Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit, Heard Museum, 2006, cat. 68; Jean Blodgett, Selections from the John and Mary Robertson Collection of Inuit Sculpture (Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1986) cat. 18. See also “Abraham Etungat, Master Sculptor” and Evelyn Blakeman, “Etungat at Home: Notes from an interview” in Arts & Culture of the North, Spring 1981, pp. 328-330.

36 PAUTA SAILA R.C.A. (1916-2009) m., CAPE DORSET, Owl, 1969, stone, signed “PAOUTA,” 6.25 x 9 x 4.5 in, 15.9 x 22.9 x 11.3 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: a Toronto private collection.

Pauta is justly famous for his magnificent bear sculptures (see Lot 11) but he did occasionally carve other animal subjects, birds in particular.

Not surprisingly he treated them much as he handled his depictions of bears: with vigour and a certain heft. With this Owl Pauta was not interested in depicting plumage or even wings; the bird’s distinctive tail is carved as almost a muscular projection rather than as feathers. And as we have observed with other Pauta bird sculptures, Owl exhibits an interesting aesthetic affinity with the work of Latcholassie (Lot 57).

References: for another bird by Pauta see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 466. See also Walker’s May 2012, Lot 27; May 2016, 232; Nov. 2016, Lot 104.

37 SHEOUAK PETAULASSIE (1923-1961) f., PRINTMAKER: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) m., CAPE DORSET, Dog and Sea Gull, 1961 #30, stencil print, A/P, 19 x 25 in, 48.3 x 63.5 cm Est.: $2,000/3,000 Provenance: a California private collection This enigmatic print by Sheouak is similar in style to works by a several other artists in the 1961 collection. We are reminded of Kiakshuk’s Family of Whales, Ohotaq’s Two Hawks Fighting, Qavaroak’s Two Men Discussing Coming Hunt, and Kenojuak’s The Return of the Sun. Dog and Sea Gull is a beautiful and quite poetic image, but we can’t help but think that it is sad as well. The dog appears emaciated and despondent, and it seems that the sea gull is flying off to get help. The fact that this print was created in the year that the young Sheouak died gives it added poignancy.

38 MARY IGIU (1925-1968), PRINTMAKER: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) m., CAPE DORSET, People of the Sea, 1961 #75, stencil print, 14/50, 18.5 x 24 in, 47 x 61 cm, framed Est.: $2,000/3,000 Provenance: a Montreal private collection This is the only print produced from a drawing by this artist, which is a shame as it is a classic early Cape Dorset image.

Although revealing the influence of Kenojuak’s style (particularly in the animal figure at the bottom), this lovely print nonetheless exhibits real originality in the form and placement of the main figure that likely represents Taleelayu, the Inuit sea goddess.

39 SHEOUAK PETAULASSIE (1923-1961) f., PRINTMAKER: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) m., CAPE DORSET, Three Walrus, 1960 #57, stencil print, 36/50, 24 x 12 in, 61 x 30.5 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: a California private collection Walruses are much more graceful in the water than they are on land. They swim in much the same way that seals do, propelling themselves forward with sinuous body movements. Sheouak has created the most elegant image of walruses that we can recall seeing. There is something almost balletic about the way these three huge animals float, seemingly weightless and carefree. The different treatment of their bodies above and below the waterline is brilliantly executed by the master printmaker Iyola.

Reference: this image is illustrated in the National Museum of Man travelling exhibition catalogue The Inuit Print (NMM, 1977) p. 64; also in James Houston, Eskimo Prints (Longman, 1971) p. 52.

E

nnutsiak was the almost exact contemporary of the Puvirnituq sculptor Joe Talirunili, and like him adopted a carving style that could be described as rustic realism. Ennutsiak began carving probably in the early 1950s and sold many of his works to a ready local market that included American servicemen and people constructing NORAD’s DEW Line at the height of the Cold War. Ennutsiak is perhaps most famous for his tableau-style birthing scenes but also created scenes that depict hunting, flensing marine mammals, travelling on the land and even bible reading, as well as occasional single human and animal subjects. This Umiaq Migration is among his largest and most ambitious creations.

Interestingly, Ennutsiak was born in Arctic Quebec and moved to southern Baffin Island in the earlier part of his life (we know that he raised his own family on Baffin). The ocean voyage across Hudson Strait (a distance of well over 100 kilometres) would have been a major undertaking, especially since it was made by umiaq, a sealskin boat. This makes the parallels with the life and art of Joe Talirunili all the more intriguing and poignant.

Ennutsiak’s Umiaq Migration is unlike Talirunili’s boat in several ways. Notably, the design of the boat itself is quite different, and for good reason. Ennutsiak’s boat follows the classic Nunavik design and construction (which, interestingly enough, can be clearly seen in two old photos reproduced in Marybelle Myers’ book on Talirunili, (FCNQ, 1977). We should remember that Ennutsiak’s community had the time to build and outfit a proper boat for their migration voyage, while the boat in Talirunili’s adventure was jerry-built in an emergency. Ennutsiak’s umiaq is powered by oars instead of paddles and is fitted with a rudder (but would have made use of a sail as well, as required). Clearly this was a more organized voyage, though it may have had its perils as well. The boy or man at the bow might be Ennutsiak himself, possibly looking out for dangerous rocks or shoals.

While lacking the expressionistic punch of Talirunili’s harrowing tale of adventure, Ennutsiak’s Umiaq Migration is equally engaging and lovingly executed – a rare tour de force by another of Inuit art’s elder master carvers.

40 ENNUTSIAK (1896-1967) m., IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY), Umiaq Migration, late 1950s, stone, ivory, thread, 7 x 12 x 4 in, 17.8 x 30.5 x 10.2 cm Est.: $25,000/35,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection Reference: for another umiaq migration scene by Ennutsiak see Waddington’s catalogue Nov. 2011, Lot 249. For other works by Ennutsiak see Maria von Finckenstein ed., Celebrating Inuit Art 1948-1970 (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1999) pp. 131-133.

43 41

41 KENOJUAK ASHEVAK C.C. R.C.A. (1927-2013) f., PRINTMAKER: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) m., CAPE DORSET, Triumvirate, 1968 #9, stonecut print, 9/50, 24.5 x 34 in, 62.2 x 86.4 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: a California private collection The difference between Iyola’s printed image and Kenojuak’s original felt pen drawing is striking. The drawing was conceived in bright green, orange, yellow, and blue, with a fine crosshatch texture almost overall. This drawing style resembled the engravings of the period but did not lend itself to the stonecut printing technique. The printmaker Iyola opted for strong blocks of colour and a modified texture more suited to stonecut.

Interestingly, the print is reminiscent of Kenojuak’s The Enchanted Owl of 1960 (guess who the printmaker was for that print!). We have to say that Triumvirate is a fantastic print, certainly the most memorable of Kenojuak’s images from 1968.

References: this image by Kenojuak was included in the Winnipeg Art Gallery exhibition/catalogue Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art (WAG, 1985) cat. 126. It is illustrated alongside Kejojuak’s original drawing in Jean Blodgett, Kenojuak (Mintmark/Firefly, 1985) p. 58.

42 KENOJUAK ASHEVAK C.C. R.C.A. (1927-2013) f., PRINTMAKER: QAVAVAU MANUMIE (1958-) m., CAPE DORSET, Owl’s Bouquet, 2007 #12, stonecut and stencil print, 30/50, 24 x 30 in, 61 x 76.2 cm (framed) Est.: $3,500/4,500 Provenance: a Quebec private collection Ever since the early 1960s Kenojuak drew various shapes of fronds, feathers and foliage to enhance her bird imagery, in particular her iconic images of owls. Owl’s Bouquet is one of a few Kenojuak images that incorporate flowers as well. Her overall design as well as Qavavau’s choice of colours and his sensitive stencil shading makes this a particularly festive version.

As is often the case with images by Kenojuak and other Cape Dorset artists, certain colour modifications took place in the translation from original drawing to finished print; these included colour gradations when it was decided to issue the print as a combination stonecut and stencil. Years later Owl’s Bouquet was chosen to be incorporated into the design for the Bank of Canada’s 2017 ten-dollar bill to commemorate Canada’s 150th Anniversary. Several members of Kenojuak’s family were present during the unveiling of the new design on April 7th, 2017. Forty million bills were issued.

Reference: for an image of the original drawing by Kenojuak as well as images of the Canada 150 commemorative Canadian ten-dollar bill using the print image see dorsetfinearts.com.

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43 PITSEOLAK ASHOONA C.M. (1904-1983) f., PRINTMAKER: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) m., CAPE DORSET, Mother Birds Protecting Eggs, 1961 #32, stencil print, 6/50, 18.5 x 25 in, 47 x 63.5 cm, (framed) Est.: $1,500/2,500 Provenance: a Montreal private collection So many of Pitseolak’s drawings and prints are full of busy activity: travelling on foot or by boat, setting up camp, hunting, birthing, or building. Her animal compositions are equally lively, and Mother Birds Protecting Eggs is no exception. Here is what we’re pretty sure is happening: four mother birds are guarding their eggs, which are about to hatch (the three at the bottom actually are hatching). The three raptors at the very top of the picture have swooped down in expectation of a feast and are being met with frantic but not necessarily fierce resistance. It is no doubt a noisy affair.

Reference: this image by Pitseolak was illustrated in Ernst Roch ed., Arts of the Eskimo: Prints (Signum/Oxford, 1974) p. 53.

C

hosen for the first-ever solo public exhibition of an Inuit artist in 1970, elected to the Royal Canadian Academy in 1973, and included in virtually every major public exhibition of Inuit sculpture in the last five decades, John Tiktak is widely regarded as one of Canada’s greatest artists. The British sculptor Henry Moore was known to be an admirer of his work. Tiktak’s powerful and moving sculptures, with their universal themes and classic forms, easily transcend the “Inuit art” category.

Those familiar with Tiktak’s impressive oeuvre know that he carved human figures and faces exclusively; his figural works comprise mothers and children, single figures, and occasional two-figure compositions. A superb example of the latter dated 1965, from the John de Visser collection, is illustrated in Walker’s Nov. 2014, Lot 216; dating a few years earlier than this work, it is nonetheless quite close in style and format. Although the present sculpture was previously assumed to be a Mother and Child, we are suggesting the title Two Figures instead. Like the 1965 work, Two Figures quite likely depicts the rear figure leaning on the figure at front. If so, there is a good chance that it represents Tiktak assisting his elderly mother, whom we know he supported and cared for until her death in 1961.

Tiktak’s sculptural style, relatively cool and elegant in the early-mid 1960s, became starkly expressive and even brutal only a year or two later. Two Figures shows the hallmarks of Tiktak’s style: apparent simplicity combined with sophistication; apparent solidity and unexpected airiness. Similarly complex is the emotional and psychological impact of the work; we sense emotional detachment, yet the figures’ facial expressions convey hardship, suffering and stoicism. It is difficult not to be profoundly moved by Tiktak’s artistry.

44 JOHN TIKTAK R.C.A. (1916-1981), RANKIN INLET, Two Figures, c. 1968, stone, signed in syllabics, 8 x 4 x 4 in, 20.3 x 10.2 x 10.2 cm Est.: $20,000/30,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection; Waddington’s 1982, Lot 393 References: See George Swinton, Tiktak: Sculptor from Rankin Inlet, N.W.T. (Gallery One-One-One, Univ. of Manitoba, 1970) for numerous examples of mothers and children by the artist, in particular cats. 23, 24 and 50. Of the various illustrations of works by Tiktak in George Swinton’s classic Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 658 is the closest in style to this sculpture. See also Darlene Coward Wight, Creation and Transformation (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2012) cat. 29; Sandra Dyck and Ingo Hessel, Sanattiaqsimajut: Inuit Art from the Carleton University Art Gallery Collection (CUAG, 2009) cat.

100. For similar examples see also Walker’s Nov. 2013, Lot 41; Nov. 2014, Lot 216; Nov. 2016, Lot 123.

45 DAVIDIALUK ALASUA AMITTU (1910-1976) m., PUVIRNITUQ, Two Hunters with Capsized Kayak, c. early 1960s, stone and ivory, signed “Devidealok” and with disc number, 10 x 5 x 2 in, 25.4 x 12.7 x 5.1 cm Est.: $4,000/6,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection; Albrecht Collection, Scottsdale; a St. Catharine’s private collection We are more used to seeing this type of marine disaster imagery from Davidialuk’s cousin Joe Talirunili; Davidialuk himself preferred to carve legends and myths. Looking at this scene, we can’t help being reminded of Davidialuk’s carved depiction of the story of Alikammiq, the kayak hunter who drowned and miraculously revived three days later (see reference below). However, this work might illustrate something more personal, perhaps even an event in the artist’s own life. We recall a fascinating Umiaq Adventure by Davidialuk that did in fact relate just such an accident (see Walker’s May 2018, Lot 22). Davidialuk has imbued this kayak misadventure scene with a marvellous mix of realism, movement, a sense of urgency, and emotional intensity. We truly feel as if we are there.

Reference: for a possibly related work and story see Zebedee Nungak and Eugene Arima, Inuit Stories: Povungnituk (Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1988), pp. 94-95; also illustrated in Swinton (1972/92) figs. 363-364.

46 DAVIDIALUK ALASUA AMITTU (1910-1976) m., PUVIRNITUQ, Goose Laying Eggs, c. 1960, stone, 5 x 12 x 6 in, 12.7 x 30.5 x 15.2 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: a Hamilton private collection Davidialuk’s obsession was the documentation of traditional Nunavik stories and legends, and he carved relatively few depictions of animals unless they were somehow related to these stories. It is interesting then that this artist would have created at least three quite large versions of this particular subject. We may yet find a story to go along with these works one day; either that or an inkling of why this theme attracted Davidialuk’s interest during this period. Goose Laying Eggs is carved in typical Davidialuk fashion: the robustly naturalistic body of the bird is covered with an equally realistic overlay of incised feathers.

References: see a very similar work in Bernadette Driscoll, Uumajut: Animal Imagery in Inuit Art (WAG, 1985) cat. 37. See another example in Bernard Saladin d’Anglure, La parole changée en pierre (Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec, 1978) 111.

47 NUTARAALUK IYAITUK (1943-2005) m., IVUJIVIK, Polar Bear and Cub, 1980s, stone, signed in syllabics and with disc no., 17 x 10 x 15 in, 43.2 x 25.5 x 38.1 cm Est.: $5,000/7,000 Provenance: a Toronto collection Although Nutaraaluk and his younger brother Matiusi (b. 1950) were raised in the same hardship-filled circumstances, they ended up leading very different lives and artistic careers. Matiusi went to school, became a policeman and then an artist known for his wide-ranging curiosity, experimentation, travels and involvement with the Inuit Art Foundation. Nutaraaluk, as the oldest surviving sibling working to support a desperately poor family, took the traditional path. He spent his life as a hunter and carver, living and working in the tiny isolated community of Ivujivik. He specialized in large works “because they feel better in my hands.”

His favourite subjects were women and bears: “I have seen many bears, but I don’t carve the actual bear; I carve the feel of the bear. I wouldn’t want to carve from a live model. I carve from my head.”

Nutaraaluk’s bear quote could have come from Pauta Saila. Had he lived in Cape Dorset, Nutaraaluk might have followed in Pauta’s footsteps as a famous carver of bears. Polar Bear and Cub is a magnificent sculpture, capturing power and ferocity on the one hand, and maternal tenderness on the other. It’s an imposing work that nonetheless draws us in. We can almost hear the mother bear giving tips on hunting to her cub.

References: see Marybelle Myers, “The Iyaituk Brothers: Nutaraaluk and Mattiusi” in Inuit Art: An Anthology (Watson & Dwyer, 1988) pp. 64-75. Above quotes are from this source.

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TUNA IQULIQ (1935-2015) m., BAKER LAKE, Head, c. 1964, stone, 11.25 x 9 x 8.75 in, 28.6 x 22.9 x 22.2 cm Est.: $4,000/6,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection Tuna (Toona) Iquliq was born in Baker Lake. He lived for a number of years in Rankin Inlet in the early-mid 1960s and began carving there before returning to his home community around 1970. No doubt influenced by the senior Rankin Inlet sculptors Tiktak and Kavik, Tuna nevertheless developed an original carving style. In the 1976 Art Gallery of Ontario catalogue The People Within, which featured the art of Baker Lake’s most important artists, curator Helga Goetz described Tuna’s later sculpted figures as “moving and powerful… demanding the emotional participation of the viewer.” By that point Tuna had adapted his style somewhat to the Baker Lake aesthetic. He carved steadily until his death, mostly small works that might be described as quirky and even charming – in a brutal kind of way.

The small heads and faces that Tuna carved early in his career point to but do not quite prepare us for Head, a monumental, brutal masterpiece. Interestingly the work prefigures rather than follows the rugged styles of Kavik and Tiktak from the late 1960s. Even for admirers of Tuna Iquliq’s art, this sculpture may come as a surprise. Like many other works by Kivalliq (Keewatin) region masters Head transcends the aesthetic canons of Inuit art. For comparisons we might need to look at the wider world of Art Brut and Outsider Art, the “styles” first championed and collected by the French painter Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985). We know the word “awesome” is much overused these days, but for the moment we can’t think of a better one to describe this remarkable work.

References: for contemporaneous works in a similar style by the artist see Winnipeg Art Gallery, Eskimo Carvers of Keewatin N.W.T. (1964) front cover and pp. 20, 21, 26; Sculpture/Inuit (CEAC/U of T), cat. 368. For two smaller heads see Norman Zepp, The Williamson Collection of Inuit Sculpture (Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1987) cats.

40-41. See also George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture/Sculpture Esquimaude (McClelland & Stewart, 1965), pp.

159-161, or Swinton’s Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 666, 669.

49 MIRIAM NANURLUQ QIYUK (1933-), BAKER LAKE, Migration Boat, mid-late 1990s, stone, signed “MIRIAM QIYUK,” 7.75 x 12 x 3.75 in, 19.7 x 30.5 x 9.5 cm Est.: $9,000/12,000 Provenance: a Toronto collection One of the great Jessie Oonark’s many talented children, Miriam Qiyuk (Nanurluq) is best known as a sculptor but has created many wonderful textile hangings as well. An active and acclaimed carver in the 1970s, Nanurluq took it up again seriously in the early 1990s. During that decade she produced a number of sculptures that depict large groups of people, sometimes placed in boats. Unlike the famous depictions of umiaq journeys carved by the Puvirnituq artist Joe Talirunili however, Nanurluq’s sculptures look more like family gatherings or reunions. In this fine example the boat shape seems to be used more as a visual metaphor rather than representing an actual watercraft; it gathers and holds people together rather than transporting them. As with other versions of this theme by Miriam Qiyuk, the work likely portrays herself and assorted children and grandchildren. Carved from a very hard stone, it is a rough-hewn yet remarkably sensitive composition.

References: for important contemporaneous works by Miriam Qiyuk see Walker’s Nov. 2012, Lot 38; May 2014, Lot 44; Nov. 2014, Lot 58; and Nov. 2016, Lot 76. For older examples by this artist see Walker’s Nov. 2015, Lot 54; and May 2017, Lot 33.

50 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, HAIDA, Whistle Pipe, c. 1835-1850, argillite, bone and abalone, 4.5 x 10.75 x 1 in, 11.4 x 27.3 x 2.5 cm, mounted on a custom metal stand Est.: $7,000/10,000 Provenance: a B.C. private collection In the first paragraph of the chapter on recorders in Argillite: Art of the Haida Leslie Drew writes: “In the storehouse of the British Museum in north London where most of its argillite collection is carefully preserved in deep wooden drawers, each carving swaddled in cotton batting, lie two curious slate pipes. They are styled as elbow pipes, yet each of them, when one blows through the stem hole, produces a whistle from a stop part-way along the stem. These dual-purpose pipes suggest a ceremonial function” (p. 185).

If the whistle pipe is indeed a variation of the elbow pipe form (which is an early type of Haida argillite pipe) then this exceptional work is both early and rare. It probably predates recorder production by ten or fifteen years, and may be as rare as the recorders themselves. Furthermore, for an elbow pipe the decoration is quite elaborate. The pipe stem is surmounted by two men in European clothing; one man is depicted riding a dog, whose front paw is charmingly raised in greeting to the other. The pipe bowl depicts the head of a man in a European-style top hat. Quite amusingly he is forced to hold the whistle in his mouth, and the abalone inlay in his eyes makes it look like they are watering with the strain of the effort. The men’s men’s heads, carved from bone, are a further elaboration and source of rarity for this remarkable work.

References: for two examples in the British Museum see Leslie Drew and Douglas Wilson, Argillite: Art of the Haida (Hancock House, 1980) p. 162. For discussions of related works (recorders) see ibid. pp. 185-187, and Peter L. Macnair and Alan L. Hoover, The Magic Leaves: A History of Haida Argillite Carving (Royal BC Museum, 1984/2002) pp. 68-71; for a superb recorder see Walker’s May 2017, Lot 55. For a ship pipe whose human figures have attached ivory or bone heads see Drew and Wilson, p. 179; for an early trade pipe with bone heads see Macnair and Hoover, fig. 96.

51 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, HAIDA, Model Totem Pole, c. 1900-1910, argillite, 8.5 x 1 x 1.5 in, 21.6 x 2.5 x 3.8 cm Est.: $1,500/2,000 Provenance: a B.C. private collection Model totem poles were the most popular argillite works produced by about 1890. This fine early 20th century pole comprising three major figures is possibly from the Masset school.

52 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, POSSIBLY INUPIAQ, POINT HOPE, ALASKA, Mask, c. late 19th century, wood and baleen, 6.5 x 4.5 x .75 in, 16.5 x 11.4 x 1.9 cm, mounted on a custom metal stand Est.: $1,500/2,500 Provenance: a B.C. private collection This mask’s minimalist features, coupled with natural imperfections in its surface, serve only to accentuate its overall gentle convex form. It is unadorned and has no existing or missing attachments other than the remnants of a baleen strap that would have fitted it to the wearer’s head.

Very unlike the often highly ornamented masks (mostly Yup’ik) that are typically associated with the Alaskan masking tradition, it nonetheless has quite a powerful presence.

53 UNIDENTIFIED MAKER, POSSIBLY COAST SALISH, Hand Maul, c. 500 B.C. – A.D. 500, stone, 7.5 x 4 x 3.75 in, 19.1 x 10.2 x 9.5 cm Est.: $600/800 Provenance: a B.C. private collection Wilson Duff estimates that the basic design of the hand hammer (or maul) is at least two thousand years old in the region at the mouth of the Fraser River in B.C. He suggests that the “nipple top” design is the oldest, and that the flat-topped design, which resembles a typical pestle, came later (p. 90). While the basic design is utilitarian there is no denying the phallic symbolism of both the shape and the use of this tool. On the other hand, in this beautiful example the nipple top suggests a male-female duality. It’s a lovely, evocative object. Dare we call it striking?

References: for a discussion of stone hammers and mauls with several illustrations see Wilson Duff, Images Stone B.C. (Oxford U.P., 1975) pp. 88-99. For a brief discussion of the use of hand hammers in woodcarving see Hilary Stewart, Cedar (Douglas & McIntyre, 1984) p. 30.

54 GARNER MOODY (1958-), HAIDA, SKIDEGATE, Totemic Figure, 1985, argillite, signed and dated, 7 x 4 x 1.75 in, 17.8 x 10.2 x 4.4 cm excluding base Est.: $1,800/2,400 Provenance: a B.C. private collection The nephew of the famous carver Rufus Moody (1923-1998), Moody began to carve argillite at age fifteen. In 1987 he moved to Vancouver where he was invited to work on Bill Reid’s famous Lootaas Canoe.

Moody lives on Haida Gwaii where he carves argillite and cedar, and makes jewellery. He was one of six artists invited to carve poles for the Haida Cultural Centre in Skidegate. His Ts’aahl Pole was raised in 2001.

Although flat at the back, Totemic Figure has more the look and feel of a sculpture than a plaque. Its proportions feel expansive as well; one can imagine it being carved as a large cedar sculpture. The work represents a beaver; interestingly the tail’s crosshatch texture is echoed on the animal’s incisors.

55 JOE TALIRUNILI (1893-1976), PUVIRNITUQ, Hunter with Harpoon, Bow and Arrow, mid-late 1960s, stone, antler, wood, sinew and thread, 10 x 4 x 2 in, 25.4 x 10.2 x 5.1 cm Est.: $7,000/10,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection; Waddington’s Dec. 1981, Lot 128 Published: this sculpture is reproduced in the landmark monograph by Marybelle Myers, Joe Talirunili: “a grace beyond the reach of art” (FCNQ, 1977) p. 15.

Joe Talirunili was an elderly man obsessed with the past, particularly his personal and family history. Locally, both the man and his art were considered eccentric. The fearless way in which he approached art making has secured for Talirunili a place in the pantheon of the world’s great folk artists.

Single figures, in particular standing men, women and owls, were Joe’s favourite sculptural themes. The style of this figure itself suggests a mid-late 1960s date. Talirunili actually presents a fair amount of detail in this stone figure of a hunter, both carved and using added materials. He was never one to be fussy about the materials he used for accessories however, using whatever he had on hand. In this relatively large example the result is homespun but quite impressive.

References: for similar figures of hunters by Talirunili see The McMichael Canadian Art Collection (1990) p. 157; and Walker’s May 2015, Lot 58.56

56 JOE TALIRUNILI (1893-1976), PUVIRNITUQ, Woman with Pail and Ulu, c. late 1960s, stone, wood and thread, signed “JOE,” 8.75 x 4 x 2 in, 22.2 x 10.2 x 5.1 cm Est.: $6,000/9,000 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection; Waddington’s Dec. 1982, Lot 318 No two women, men or owls carved by the celebrated Puvirnituq artist Joe Talirunili look the same. He obviously prided himself on imbuing each of his human and animal subjects with a distinctive look and personality. We would not be surprised if Talirunili’s carvings of people are in fact portraits. This fine example is relatively large, quite elegant, and truly charming.

One of the most important jobs for a woman in traditional times was collecting water for her camp; this was especially challenging in winter. Inuit women also used skin pails for a variety of purposes including food gathering. Given Talirunili’s penchant for using found materials to fashion implements, it is interesting to note that he carved the woman’s pail from stone. The implement she carries in her other hand is not precisely ulu-shaped, so perhaps it is another utensil; a woman illustrated in Myers’ book (p. 29) carries a pail and a similar paddle-shaped tool.

References: several examples of standing women by Talirunili are reproduced in the landmark monograph by Marybelle Myers, Joe Talirunili: “a grace beyond the reach of art” (FCNQ, 1977).

57 LATCHOLASSIE AKESUK (1919-2000) m., CAPE DORSET, Owl and Birds, late 1960s, stone, 7 x 9 x 2.5 in, 17.8 x 22.9 x 6.4 cm Est.: $5,000/7,000 Provenance: a Montreal private collection One of Cape Dorset’s best-loved artists, Latcholassie was the son of the famous sculptor and graphic artist Tudlik and the brother of the Clyde River sculptor Solomonie Tigullaraq (Lot 71). His sculptures are notable especially for their sense of whimsy and humour, but often also for a certain degree of abstraction. In his “Remembrances” introduction to the 1998 Feheley Fine Arts catalogue of his collection, Terry Ryan wrote: “Latcholassie [like his father] would reflect this contained, imaginary and very personal approach to his work. Not unlike Parr, who never carved but whose drawings reflected that rare ability to call forward another time and place, his work was guileless and sincere” (p. 5).

Latcholassie’s favourite subjects were birds, especially owls. Many of his birds have human attributes and poses; while a few could be classified as transformation figures, most are simply playful anthropomorphic inventions. Owl and Birds is an utterly charming composition, depicting an unlikely trio that appears to be arranging itself for a group photo. Latcholassie might have been guileless but he was certainly not lacking in wit!

References: for a similar composition by the artist see Feheley Fine Arts, The Ryan Collection (Toronto, 1998) p. 10.

For other important works by this artist see Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern (2010) pp. 136-137; Sculpture/Inuit (Canadian Eskimo Arts Council/U of T), cats. 189, 192-194, 319, 334. See also Walker’s Nov. 2012, Lot 164; Nov. 2013, Lot 23; Nov. 2015, Lot 85.

58 PITSEOLAK NIVIAQSI (1947-2015) m., CAPE DORSET, Woman Holding her Braid, c. 1998-99, stone, signed in syllabics, 12 x 7 x 9 in, 30.5 x 17.8 x 22.9 cm Est.: $4,000/6,000 Provenance: a Toronto collection Pitseolak Niviaqsi was the son of the renowned sculptor and graphic artist Niviaqsi (1908-1959) and the graphic artist Kunu (1923-1966). Trained as a lithographer in the early 1970s, Pitseolak became one of the Kinngait Studio’s master printmakers, working on hundreds of Cape Dorset prints between 1975 and 2011. He is equally famous for his sculptures, many of which depict female subjects including young women, mothers and children, and the sea goddess. In the catalogue referenced below Nigel Reading wrote: “The art of Pitseolak exudes an elegance and refinement now rare in Inuit sculpture.” Woman Holding her Braid is a beautiful example of his work. It is masterfully carved but not showy or flashy; while fairly large it has the sensibility of a smaller, more intimate work.

References: the best introduction to this artist’s sculpture is Spirit Wrestler Gallery, The Lyrical World of Pitseolak Niviaqsi (Vancouver, 2001). For similarly themed works by the artist see Derek Norton and Nigel Reading, Cape Dorset Sculpture (Douglas & McIntyre, 2007) p. 38; Marion Scott Gallery, Inspiration (1995) cat. 17.

60 PITALOOSIE SAILA R.C.A., DETAILS

59 PITALOOSIE SAILA R.C.A. (1942-) f., CAPE DORSET, Mother at Camp, Sewing a Kamik, 2012, ink and coloured pencil drawing, signed in syllabics, 29 x 21 in, 73.7 x 53.3 cm (sight), 30.25 x 22.25 in, 76.8 x 56.5 cm (framed) Est.: $1,800/2,400 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa Published: Norman Hallendy, An Intimate Wilderness: Arctic Voices in a Land of Vast Horizons (Greystone, 2016) p. 142. Pitaloosie’s drawing was commissioned for this book.

Norman Hallendy asked his “little sister” Pitaloosie to make a drawing that would illustrate traditional life and teach us something about it as well. This stunning work brings to mind one of Pitaloosie’s finest prints, Woman Proudly Sewing, a lithograph from 1988 (see reference below, p. 16). Mother at Camp, Sewing a Kamik is not only a beautiful composition it is also a tour de force example of this artist’s exquisite drawing technique.

Reference: for an overview of Pitaloosie’s life and work see Susan Gustavison and Darlene Coward Wight, Pitaloosie Saila: A Personal Journey (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2017).

60 PITALOOSIE SAILA R.C.A. (1942-) f., CAPE DORSET, Six Drawings, 2012, ink, each 10.5 x 10.5 in, 26.7 x 26.7 cm (sight), 37 x 25 in, 94 x 63.5 cm (framed) Est.: $2,000/3,000 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa Published: three of these drawings* are illustrated in Norman Hallendy, An Intimate Wilderness: Arctic Voices in a Land of Vast Horizons (Greystone, 2016) pp. 155, 166, 194. All six drawings were commissioned for the book.

Norman Hallendy asked his close friend Pitaloosie to illustrate various themes concerning traditional spirituality and legends. From left to right, top to bottom, these are: 1) a Tuniit (legendary early inhabitants of the Arctic, possibly Dorset Culture); 2)* a transforming shaman drummer; 3) Qavavau, a legendary male- and female-headed creature, transforming into a Viking boat; 4)* the sea goddess Sedna; 5)* a composite of several spirit figures; 6) the Legend of the Man and the Giant.

Some of these fascinating drawings are instantly recognizable as being by Pitaloosie while others are surprises. All in all this is a wonderful series, with some unexpected imagery as well. Pitaloosie richly deserved her solo exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2017.

Reference: for an overview of Pitaloosie’s life and work see Susan Gustavison and Darlene Coward Wight, Pitaloosie Saila: a personal journey (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2017).

61 TIKITU QINNUAYUAK (1908-1992) m., PRINTMAKER: PEE MIKIGAK (1940-1996) m., CAPE DORSET, Iputtuit/Rowing The Boat, 1991 #31, stonecut & stencil print, A/P, 21.5 x 29.5 in, 54.6 x 74.9 cm (sight), 28 x 34.25 in, 71.1 x 87 cm (framed) Est.: $700/1,000 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa John Westren’s analysis of this beautiful image is truly insightful: “…[it is a] print that uses limited means to achieve a work of enormous energy and tension… The thick black lines of the hull suggest weight, and the uneven lines of the seats not only create tension and movement but also emphasize the vulnerability of the craft. Light stenciling on the bottom gives the boat depth, thereby increasing the perception of the drag and resistance these intrepid rowers face in the vast, cold waters that surround them” (in Ryan, see below, p. 245). We will add only that we find Tikitu’s mixed aerial and lateral perspectives delightful.

Reference: this image is illustrated in Leslie Boyd Ryan, Cape Dorset Prints: A Retrospective (Pomegranate, 2007) p. 247; a quite similar drawing is illustrated in Muscarelle Museum of Art, Contemporary Inuit Drawings (1993) cat. 81.

62 SHEOUAK PETAULASSIE (1923-1961) f., PRINTMAKER: EEGYVUDLUK POOTOOGOOK (1931-1999) m., CAPE DORSET, Men Meeting, 1960 #56, stencil print, 12/50, 19 x 12 in, 48.3 x 30.5 cm Est.: $2,000/3,000 Provenance: a California private collection With seven prints made from her drawings in the 1960 annual collection, Sheouak Petaulassie was well on her way to becoming a rising young star of the graphic arts program in Cape Dorset when she tragically died in her thirties. She had not yet moved into the community and would visit Cape Dorset mostly in the summer.

Sheouak’s drawing style reveals her unique ability to show the interplay of positive and negative space, and the “spaces in between” things in unusual ways. Her drawings illustrated in the Strange Scenes catalogue are fascinating and revelatory. In the print Men Meeting Sheouak creates a simple zigzag space that illustrates the men’s embrace but also gives it meaning. The trio of birds placed between their heads fills the space with their topic of conversation. Lovely.

Reference: Jean Blodgett and Susan Gustavison, Strange Scenes: Early Cape Dorset Drawings (McMichael, 1993) pp. 106-111.

63 PITSEOLAK ASHOONA, C.M. (1904-1983) f., PRINTMAKER: LUKTA QIATSUK (1928-2004) m., CAPE DORSET, Mosquitoes Attacking Dog, 1961 #34, stonecut print, 30/50, 14 x 12 in, 35.6 x 30.5 cm (framed) Est.: $1,000/1,500 Provenance: a Montreal private collection Both in summer and winter we used to move a lot. In summer there were always very big mosquitoes. I have made many drawings of moving camp in summertime and I always put in the mosquitoes. I do not like insects. (Quote from the artist in Dorothy Eber ed., Pitseolak: Pictures out of my life, Design Collaborative Books/Oxford UP, 1971, unpag.)

For those of you who do not believe that Arctic mosquitoes are the size of small birds, now you have your proof!

64 JESSIE OONARK, O.C. R.C.A. (1906-1985), BAKER LAKE, Untitled (Mary Magdalene at the Tomb of Jesus), c. 1976, coloured pencil drawing, signed in syllabics, 14.5 x 9.5 in, 37 x 24 cm Est.: $1,500/2,500 Provenance: a Toronto private collection As mentioned in the discussion of Lot 17, we sometimes have to speculate about Oonark’s portrayal of Christian iconography. This drawing almost surely depicts Mary Magdalene and Jesus, but since it seems to show him twice we need to sort out the precise meaning.

(It should be noted that the illustration of multiple episodes of a story is a common feature of Baker Lake narrative drawings.) That Jesus is depicted at the time of his burial (which Mary Magdalene witnessed) seems clear. The second depiction is more puzzling; it may represent the moment of Jesus’s resurrection (unseen by Mary), or perhaps it illustrates the slightly later Noli Mi Tangere (Touch Me Not) scene. It’s a charming and very moving work.

References: for related Christian imagery by Oonark see Darlene Coward Wight, Creation and Transformation (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2012) cat. 76 (Giver of Life); see also Jean Blodgett and Marie Bouchard, Jessie Oonark: A Retrospective (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1986) p. 45 (The Last Supper).

66 JOSIAH NUILAALIK R.C.A. (1928-2005), BAKER LAKE, Caribou/Bear Shaman, late 1990s, stone and antler, signed in syllabics, 8 x 9.5 x 4 in, 20.3 x 24.1 x 10.2 cm Est.: $3,000/5,000 Provenance: a Toronto private collection One of Jessie Oonark’s two surviving sons, Nuilaalik carved infrequently until the mid 1980s then quickly forged a reputation as one of Baker Lake’s most imaginative sculptors, renowned for both his spirit and shamanic imagery and the fluid, organic, smoothly rounded forms of his works. Nuilaalik’s gift was his ability to effortlessly blur the physical distinctions between human and animal bodies of various species. One of his greatest transformation sculptures, titled Wolf-Wasp Transformation of 1996, is truly a work of genius (see Hessel, Arctic Spirit, Heard, 2006, fig. 66 or Walker’s Nov. 2015, Lot 18).

Like many of Nuilaalik’s hybrid creatures and shamans, Caribou/Bear Shaman gazes skyward. Even the design of the artist’s trademark antlers adds to the sculpture’s shape-shifting, otherworldly aspect.

Reference: for several similar and related works by Nuilaalik see Marion Scott Gallery, Two Great Image Makers from Baker Lake (Vancouver, 1999). See also Walker’s Nov. 2012, Lot 80.

65 BARNABUS ARNASUNGAAQ (1924-2017), BAKER LAKE, Shaman and Two Muskoxen, c. 2000, stone, 9.5 x 15 x 4.25 in, 24.1 x 38.1 x 10.8 cm Est.: $5,000/7,000 Provenance: a Toronto collection Barnabus Arnasungaaq is Baker Lake’s most famous sculptor, renowned chiefly for his portrayals of muskoxen: large or small; massively crude or delicately polished; solitary or combined with human subjects. His name is inextricably linked with his favourite subject; a “Barnabus muskox” is as widely recognized as a “Pauta bear.” Like Pauta’s, Arnasungaaq’s career spanned six decades; almost like a man possessed, he carved until the year he died.

Shaman and Two Muskoxen makes a powerful sculptural statement for its very scale and heft as well as through its imagery. The shaman and his two spirit familiars form one massive unit that is literally indivisible. Perhaps at first you might perceive two muskoxen framing a floating human face. Close your eyes and look again, and you suddenly see an enormous human figure whose “wings” are actually muskoxen. The animals’ shaggy fur now doubles as feathers for the owl-like shaman. Terrific.

References: for a quite similar composition by fellow Baker Lake sculptor Mathew Aqigaaq see Walker’s Nov. 2014, Lot 85. For related imagery by Arnasungaaq see Walker’s Nov. 2014, Lot 59; Nov. 2017, Lot 65.

67 ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN ATTOK (1906-1980), ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT), Mother and Child, c. 1965-68, stone, 9.75 x 10.5 x 4.75 in, 24.8 x 26.7 x 12.1 cm Est.: $3,000/4,500 Provenance: a Hamilton private collection Mother and Child is a naively conceived but imposing and quite compelling sculpture, unusually large for this period in Arviat art.

The figure of the mother is powerfully built yet gaunt; she has pulled her amautiq down in order to nurse her toddler. The work has a haunting quality that makes us wonder whether it depicts the figures in a time of famine. One touching aspect of the work is the simple but lovely way in which the artist has shown the mother’s braids at the back.

Not much is known about John Attok but he is considered to be one of the major talents from these early years. He was never prolific however and may not have carved much in stone after about 1970.

References: for important works by Attok see Darlene Wight, The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1987) cat. 77; Bernadette Driscoll, Eskimo Point/Arviat (WAG, 1982) cats. 22-23; George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs.

65, 80; and Sculpture/Inuit (CEAC/U of T, 1971) figs. 103, 288.

69 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, POSSIBLY CLYDE RIVER, Kayaker, 1968, antler, whale bone and colour, 1.5 x 7.5 x 2.75 in, 4 x 19 x 7 cm Est.: $600/900 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa The dot motif adds a lovely design element to this appealing little kayak scene. It is reminiscent of the simple decorations that were sometimes applied to ivory carvings during the Historic Period.

68 ATTRIBUTED TO FABIEN OOGAAQ (1923-1992), KUGAARUK (PELLY BAY), Three Birds, 1968, ivory and whale bone, 3.5 x 5.75 x 2.5 in, 9 x 14.5 x 6.5 cm Est.: $2,000/3,000 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa Published: this work is illustrated in George Swinton’s classic Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 799.

Due to seasonal ice jams and a lack of air service, Pelly Bay (now known as Kugaaruk) was virtually isolated from the outside world until the late 1960s, so local carvers were encouraged to produce small ivories that would be more easily transportable. Thus a whole “school” of ivory miniatures was created by chance.

Fabien Oogaaq’s Three Birds is one of those works that takes this “modest” art form into the realm of the sublime. It is a deceptively simple carving, serene and unassuming yet supremely elegant.

References: note the strong stylistic similarity to a bird by Oogaaq in Swinton’s book, fig. 806, and to Three Swimming Birds by the artist in that book (fig. 807), also illustrated in Walker’s Nov. 2014, Lot 117.

70 UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST, PROBABLY KUGAARUK (PELLY BAY), Hunter With a Spear, 1969, caribou bone and whale bone, 4 x 2 x 2.75 in, 10 x 2.5 x 7 cm Est.: $900/1,200 Provenance: Norman Hallendy Collection, Ottawa There is a chance that this work might have been carved by Fabien Oogaaq (see Lot 19), but it is perhaps more likely that it was made by an artist influenced by him.

71 SOLOMONIE TIGULLARAQ (1924-2000), CLYDE RIVER, Standing Woman, c. 1966, stone, 11.25 x 5.5 x 3.25 in, 28.6 x 14 x 8.2 cm Est.: $2,000/3,000 Provenance: an Ontario private collection Son of the famous Cape Dorset sculptor and graphic artist Tudlik and brother of the renowned sculptor Latcholassie (see Lot 57), Tigullaraq moved north to Arctic Bay as a young man and settled in Clyde River. Tigullaraq carved only for a relatively short period, mostly from 1966 to 1968 when back problems prevented him from hunting.

Nonetheless he was considered to be the best, and certainly the most interesting artist in the community, famous for his quirky, blocky depictions of humans and bears.

Standing Woman is a remarkable early work by Tigullaraq. It reminds us of some of the great early 1950s sculptures from Salluit (Sugluk) in Nunavik. (We should remember that carving began at different times in different Inuit communities; 1966 is early for Clyde River.) Like the best of those early Salluit works, Standing Woman is naïve and raw but stunning, monumental, and psychologically impactful. It’s a classic example of the Inuit mother-and-child archetype.

References: perhaps Tigullaraq’s most famous sculpture is his much reproduced (and variously titled) Bear Shaman of c. 1968, illustrated in George Swinton’s Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 844-845; in Jean Blodgett, The Coming and Going of the Shaman (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1978) p. 113, and elsewhere. For several other works by the artist see Maria von Finckenstein, “Solomonie Tigullaraq: One of those Unnoticed Artists” in Inuit Art Quarterly (Winter 2001) 38-42.

72 AQJANGAJUK (AXANGAYU) SHAA R.C.A. (1937-2019) m., CAPE DORSET, Scrimshaw Composition, c. 1965, ivory, stone and ink, 14.5 x 6 x 4 in, 36.8 x 15.2 x 10.2 cm Est.: $3,500/5,000 Provenance: a Montreal collection; Harry and Marcia Klamer Collection, Toronto Aqjangajuk is well known for his large, muscular and often contorted stone sculptures of animals and humans.

His only early print, Wounded Caribou of 1961, is widely accepted to be a masterpiece, but he drew little at that time. Equally rare is this fascinating engraved tusk by the artist, an example of an art closely related to drawing, the art of ivory scrimshaw.

Typical Inuit scrimshaw work presents quite realistic displays of animal and human subjects in fine detail and in fairly static poses. This work is really quite different; in keeping with Aqjangajuk’s sculptural style, the tusk shows animals and spirits in lively but highly idiosyncratic stances. Most of the small figures are captured in full movement. Their quirkiness and inventiveness makes us wish all the more that this artist had created more drawings.

References: for a detail of a similarly engraved tusk by the artist in the Sarick Collection at the AGO see George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture/Sculpture Esquimaude (McClelland & Stewart, 1965), p. 185 or Swinton’s Sculpture of the Inuit (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), fig. 477.

73 NELSON TAKKIRUQ (1930-1999), GJOA HAVEN, Mother and Child, 1987, stone, ivory, wood, bone, signed in syllabics and dated, 13 x 8 x 4 in, 33 x 20.3 x 10.2 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: an Ottawa private collection Takkiruq was the brother of the famous Gjoa Haven sculptor Judas Ullulaq. The two brothers shared a sense of humour and positive attitude. Takkiruq’s figures typically are less likely to truly be full of angst, even if the style of their faces suggests just that. This work might be an exception.

Although identified simply as a Mother and Child, the imagery suggests that something less straightforward might be happening here. First, the woman seems to be wielding the harpoon hunter more in self-defense than in a hunting stance; the configuration of the harpoon itself is also unusual. Second and more importantly, the child’s face emerging from the woman’s hood is quite unsettling. We wonder if the woman might in fact be defending herself and her child from an evil spirit. Assuming that the face at back is actually her child’s…

References: for a selection of other works by Takkiruq see Darlene Coward Wight, Art & Expression of the Netsilik (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2000), pp. 148-151.

See also Ingo Hessel, Arctic Spirit (Heard Museum, 2006) cat. 109.

74 EARLY PUNUK CULTURE, BERING SEA, ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND, ALASKA OR CHUKOTKA, Harpoon Counterweight (“Winged Object”), c. A.D. 600-800, ivory, 3.125 x 6 x 1.125 in, 8 x 15.5 x 3 cm Est.: $2,500/3,500 Provenance: Bill Johnstone Collection, U.K.; Alaska Shop, NYC Harpoon counterweights (or “winged objects” as they are often called) counteracted the weight of the harpoon’s heavy ivory head, foreshaft and socket piece. Attached to the butt end of the harpoon, they also acted as stabilizers. Counterweights were used from Okvik times right through to the end of the Punuk Period and their styles changed considerably over time.

They are remarkably elegant objects, with both their form and decoration highly suggestive (and symbolic) of their important function.

William Fitzhugh synthesizes an evolution in style and meaning for the “winged object” (see reference pp.

182-185). We would suggest that our example fits the style for the Early Punuk Period, just past OBS III. It’s a transitional design, relying far less on engraved pattern for its symbolic meaning and far more on sculptural form. While most scholars (including Fitzhugh) suggest that all animal references disappeared with the new shape and lack of engraving, we see clear naturalistic bird form – in fact perhaps even a double-headed bird form – in the sculpture itself. This “winged object” is perhaps more literal and less symbolic, but it is unarguably very elegant. The Middle Punuk design of counterweight is more radically stylized, and the Late Punuk “turreted objects” have a completely different look.

References: for illustrations of similar works see William Fitzhugh et al, Gifts from the Ancestors: Ancient Ivories of Bering Strait (Princeton Univ. Art Museum/Yale Univ.

Press, 2009), pp. 147, 184-185. See also Henry Collins et al, The Far North: 2000 Years of American Eskimo and Indian Art (National Gallery, Washington, 1973) p. 19.

75 POSSIBLY LATE PUNUK OR THULE CULTURE, ALASKA OR CANADA, Standing Female Figure, c. A.D. 10001400, bone, 5 x 1.75 x 1 in, 12.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 cm Est.: $3,500/5,000 Provenance: Bill Johnstone Collection, U.K.; Alaska Shop, NYC It had been suggested that this work originates with Canada’s Dorset Culture, and we are open to that possibility. But we feel it may be more likely that this female figure may have been carved in the Late Punuk Period in Alaska, or perhaps in the early Thule Period, either in northern Alaska or Arctic Canada (see references below). Since the figure is considerably weathered there is no way of knowing if it had any engraved decoration, however it certainly possesses considerable sculptural presence. Its pose suggests that the figure may have had spiritual or ritual meaning, and that it was not simply carved as a doll.

References: for works with some stylistic resemblances see Allen Wardwell, Ancient Eskimo Ivories of the Bering Strait (Hudson Hills Press, 1986) fig 115 (also in William Fitzhugh et al, Gifts from the Ancestors, 2009, Fig. 17, p. 135); and Donald Ellis Gallery, Art of the Arctic: Reflections of the Unseen: Ivories from the Bering Sea (2015) pl. 20. See also Sculpture/Inuit (Canadian Eskimo Arts Council/U of T) cat. 42.

ARTIST INDEX AKESUK, Latcholassie 57 ALIQU, Simon Qissualu 9 AMITTU, Davidialuk Alasua 45, 46 ARNASUNGAAQ, Barnabus 65 ASHEVAK, Kenojuak 15, 30, 41, 42 ASHOONA, Pitseolak 6, 43, 63 ATTOK, John 67 ENNUTSIAK 40 ETUNGAT, Abraham 34 EVALUARDJUK, Henry 3, 22 IGIU, Mary 38 IPEELEE, Osuitok 28 IQULIQ, Tuna 48 IYAITUQ, Nutaraaluk 47 MIKI, Andy 32 MOODY, Garner 54 NIVIAQSI, Pitseolak 58 NUILAALIK, Josiah 66 NUNA, Sharky 35 OOGAAQ, Fabien 19, 68 OONARK, Jessie 16, 17, 24, 64 OQUTAQ, Sheokjuk 4 PANGNARK, John 31, 33 PARR 5 PETAULASSIE, Sheouak 37, 39, 62 POOTOOGOOK, Josephie 29 PUDLAT, Pudlo 7 QIMIRPIK, Nuyaliaq 23 QINNUAYUAK, Tikitu 61 QINUAJUA, Eli Sallualu 2 QIYUK, Miriam Nanurluk 49 SAILA, Pauta 11, 36 SAILA, Pitaloosie 59, 60 SHAA, Aqjangaju (Axangayu) 72 TAKKIRUQ, Nelson 73 TALIRUNILI, Joe 1, 18, 55, 56 TASSEOR TUTSWEETOK, Lucy 13 TATANNIQ, George 14 TIGULLARAQ, Solomonie 71 TIKTAK, John 12, 44

Terms and Conditions of Sale IMPORTANT NOTES

CONDITIONS OF SALE

All lots will be offered and sold subject to this Condition of Sale as well as any Glossary and posted announcements. By bidding at auction, bidders are bound by those Conditions and Glossary, as amended by any announcements or posted notices, which together form the contract of sale between the successful bidder (buyer), First Arts Premiers Inc. (sold through Waddington’s Auctioneers), and the consignor (seller) of the lot. Description or photographs of lots are not warranties and each lot is sold "as is" in accordance with the Conditions of Sale.

1. Each lot sold is subject to a premium of 20% of the successful bid

Condition of Lots: All of the items are to be considered, unless otherwise noted in the description, in good condition. The definition of "good" when used in reference to condition, describes an object as having had no major damage or repair but as with the nature of the material, may show minor surface wear, discolouration etc., which indicates the acceptable wear that the piece may acquire with age. If you are particular about minor flaws, you should have our staff answer any questions before bidding. Sizes are approximate. Frames on artwork are not included as part of purchase or condition. It is the sole responsibility of the bidder to inquire as to the condition of a lot before bidding. Condition reports are available upon request by phone, fax, email or in person.

You are advised to make any requests well in advance of the sale.

time, to divide any lot or to combine any two or more lots at his sole discretion, all without notice.

Shipping: The Auctioneers will not undertake packing or shipping. The purchaser must designate and arrange for the services of an independent shipper and be responsible for all shipping and insurance expenses.

The Auctioneers will, upon request, provide names of professional packers and shippers but will not be held responsible for the service or have any liability for providing this information. Reliable pre-auction estimates of shipping costs of lots offered in this sale may be obtained from: PakShip http://www.pakship.ca/ Attn: Taurus Chan 905 470 6874 taurus@pakship.ca Envoy Business Services http://www.envoy.ca/2400midland/ Attn: Perry Hehn 416 299 3367 416 299 9750 (fax) ph@envoy.ca[ML2]

CITES: Restrictions exist regarding the import and export of species protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). This includes but is not limited to items made of or containing bone (whale bone etc.), ivory, tortoise shell, seal skin, and any other animal part and is strictly controlled or forbidden by most countries.

Please review your country’s laws before bidding on pieces made of or containing these restricted items. It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to inquire about and obtain the proper permits for artwork purchased that may contain restricted materials, if such permit can be obtained. For more information please visit www.cites.org.

price of each lot as part of the purchase price.

2. Unless exempted by law, the buyer is required to pay 13% HST

(Harmonized Sales Tax) on the hammer price and buyer’s premium, except for purchases directly exported from Canada. In the case where purchases are shipped out of the province of Ontario, the HST or GST is charged based on the tax status of that province.

3. The auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw any lot from sale at any

4. The auctioneer has the right to refuse any bid and to advance the bidding at his absolute discretion. The auctioneer reserves the right not to accept and not to reject any bid. Without limitation, any bid which is not commensurate with the value of the article offered, or which is merely a nominal or fractional advance over the previous bid may not be recognized.

5. Each lot may be subject to an unpublished reserve which may be changed at any time by agreement between the auctioneer and the consignor. The auctioneer may bid, or direct an employee to bid, on behalf of the consignor as agreed between them. In addition, the auctioneer may accept and submit absentee and telephone bids, to be executed by an employee of the auctioneer, pursuant to the instructions of prospective purchasers not in attendance at the sale.

6. The highest bidder accepted by the auctioneer for any lot shall be

the buyer and such buyer shall forthwith assume full risk and responsibility for the lot and must comply with such other Conditions of Sale as may be applicable. If any dispute should arise between bidders the auctioneer shall have the absolute discretion to designate the buyer or, at his option, to withdraw any disputed lot from the sale, or to reoffer it at the same or a subsequent sale. The auctioneer`s decision in all cases shall be final.

7. Immediately after the purchase of a lot, the buyer shall pay or under-

take to the satisfaction of the auctioneer with respect to payment of the whole or any part of the purchase price requested by the auctioneer, failing which the auctioneer in his sole discretion may cancel the sale, with or without re-offering the item for sale.

8. The buyer shall pay for all lots within 48 hours of the date of the sale, after which a late charge of 2% per month on the total invoice may be incurred or the auctioneer, in his sole discretion, may cancel the sale.

The buyer shall not become the owner of the lot until paid for in full.

Items must be removed within 10 days from the date of sale, after which storage charges may be incurred.

9. Each lot purchased, unless the sale is cancelled as above, shall be

held by the auctioneer at his premises or at a public warehouse at the sole risk of the buyer until fully paid for and taken away.

10. All lots are sold “AS IS”. Any description issued by the auctioneer of

an article to be sold is subject to variation to be posted on line and/or announced via email prior to the time of sale. While the auctioneer has endeavored not to mislead in the description issued, and the utmost care is taken to ensure the correct cataloguing of each item, such descriptions are purely statements of opinion and are not intended to constitute a representation to the prospective purchasers and no warranty of the correctness of such description is made. Some lots are of

an age and/or nature which preclude their being in pristine condition and some catalogue descriptions make reference to damage and/ or restoration. The lack of such a reference does not imply that a lot is free from defects nor does any reference to certain defects imply the absence of others. It is the responsibility of prospective purchasers to inspect or have inspected each lot upon which they wish to bid and to bid accordingly.

11. Payment for purchases must be by cash, INTERAC direct debit (Cdn clients in person only), certified cheque (U.S. & Overseas not applicable), travelers cheque, bank draft, electronic transfer (fee applies), and VISA or Mastercard (up to $25,000).

12. In the event of failure to pay for or remove articles within the aforementioned time limit, the auctioneer, without limitation of the rights of the consignor and the auctioneer against the buyer, may resell any of the articles affected, and in such case the original buyer shall be responsible to the auctioneer and the consignor for: (a) any deficiency in price between the re-sale amount and the amount to have been paid by the original buyer (b) any reasonable charge by the auctioneer for the storage of such articles until payment and removal by the subsequent buyer and (c) the amount of commission which the auctioneer would have earned had payment been made in full by the original buyer.

13. It is the responsibility of the buyer to make all arrangements for insuring, packing and removing the property purchased and any assistance by the auctioneer or his servants, agents or contractors, in packing or removal shall be rendered as a courtesy and without any liability to them.

14. The auctioneer acts solely as agent for the consignor and makes no representation as to any attribute of, title to, or restriction affecting the articles consigned for sale. Without limitation, the buyer understands that any item bought may be affected by the provisions of the Cultural Property Export Act (Canada).

15. The auctioneer reserves the right to refuse admission to the sale

or to refuse to recognize any or all bids from any particular person or persons at any auction.

First Arts We are now accepting consignments of quality Inuit, First Nations and MĂŠtis art for our program of auctions and retail sales and exhibitions.

One important innovative concept built into the First Arts partnership is our ability to offer consignors different options. Because we are a hybrid auction-retail company we are able to sort the works from your collection into live auctions, retail galleries, online exhibitions, or online auctions, thus affording each object its optimal sales potential.

We consider offers of consignments of classic and modern Inuit art as well as fine historical and modern First Nations and MĂŠtis art at all times of the year, and in all categories: sculptures, prints and drawings, paintings, textiles and blankets, heritage clothing, masks, argillite, totem poles, rattles, baskets, jewellery, artifacts etc. We are happy to offer free verbal appraisals of individual works, complete collections, and estates.

Contact us to arrange appointments in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and other cities.

Contact: Ingo Hessel ingo@FirstArts.ca 613.818.2100 www.FirstArts.ca

First Arts CURRENT ONLINE EXHIBITIONS: The Sculpture of Solomonie Tigullaraq, Clyde River Son of the famous Cape Dorset sculptor and graphic artist Tudlik and brother of the renowned sculptor Latcholassie, Tigullaraq moved north to Arctic Bay as a young and settled in Clyde River. Tigullaraq carved only for a relatively short period, mostly from 1966 to 1968. Nonetheless he was considered to be the best, and certainly the most interesting artist in the community, famous for his quirky, blocky depictions of humans and bears. This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime offering of about twenty sculptures by Tigullaraq, purchased directly from the artist in the 1960s and coming to market for the first time.

WORKS AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT www.FirstArts.ca AND AT FEHELEY FINE ARTS, TORONTO

The Hallendy Collection of Ivory Miniatures This stunning collection of ivory and bone miniatures was assembled by the ethnogeographer Norman Hallendy between 1968 and 1971, during field trips to the tiny communities of Naujaat (Repulse Bay) and Kugaaruk (Pelly Bay). Many Inuit in these communities had begun carving in the early 1940s, almost a full decade before the “discovery” of Inuit art by James Houston. Some would argue that Inuit ivories constitute the closest link to the Historic Period carvings of the 19th and early 20th centuries. This delightful exhibition comprises some fifty small treasures.

WORKS AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT www.FirstArts.ca AND AT GALERIE ELCA LONDON, MONTREAL

CURATED ONLINE EXHIBITIONS COMING SOON: Cape Dorset Masters: a Collection of Prints and Drawings Baker Lake Drawings: Oonark, Anguhadluq, Tuu’luq and more

www.FirstArts.ca

www.FirstArts.ca

First Arts