Inuit Graphics and Textiles

Jessie Oonark, Big Woman, 30/46, 1976

Stencil, 35 x 26 in. (88.9 x 66 cm)

This is one of two iconic images of women that Oonark produced (the other is titled simply Woman, inventory number 3553-1). Oonark was fascinated both by color and by the form of the Inuit amaut (woman's parka). She is unconstrained by scale and perspective, emphasizing the sweep of the amaut and its high cut at the sides, showing most of the leg. She freely uses bright colors, with yellow, red purple and teal blue predominating. There is no question that her subject is strong and resilient.

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Jessie Oonark, Woman, 13/50, 1970

31 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.

Considered important enough to grace the cover of the 1970 inaugural Baker Lake print catalogue, Oonark’s magnificent Woman rivals Kenojuak’s The Enchanted Owl as an icon of Inuit graphic art. This bold composition manifests Oonark’s burgeoning talent as a colorist, and highlights her strong interest in clothing design as a major source of inspiration. In Woman, Oonark takes considerable liberties with both scale and perspective to emphasize the traditional amautiq’s capacious hood and shoulders. In her drawing (in the collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery), Oonark translates three dimensions into a carefully orchestrated arrangement of flattened shapes interlocked in a planar fashion. The bold simplicity of Woman belies the complexity and sophistication of this image, which is still considered to be one of Oonark’s greatest achievements. Printmaker Thomas Mannik masterfully translated Oonark’s drawing, employing careful variations of yellow to articulate the contrasting shades of the caribou skin. Presenting an impressive knowledge of colour theory, bands of associated green and blue ornament the woman’s garments. These colours are repeated in the figure’s dramatically sweeping hood, where they are contrasted against two blazing shocks of red. This particular edition of Woman has retained its colouration extraordinarily well and the inks appear as fresh and vibrant and they the day they were pulled. This is especially remarkable when you consider that both red and yellow are known as fugitive inks. References: Woman is featured on the cover of the inaugural Baker Lake print catalogue of 1970. This image has been extensively reproduced, including in Ernst Roch ed., Arts of the Eskimo: Prints, (Montreal/Toronto: Signum/Oxford, 1974), pp. 196-197; The Inuit Print (Ottawa: National Museum of Man, 1977) cat. 114, p. 200-1; Sheila Butler, “The First Printmaking Year at Baker Lake,” The Beaver, Spring 1976, p. 25, printed in Alma Houston, ed., Inuit Art: An Anthology, (Winnipeg: Watson & Dwyer, 1988), p. 109; Bernadette Driscoll, The Inuit Amautik: I Like My Hood To Be Full, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1980), pl. 94, p. 67; Darlene Coward Wight, Creation and Transformation: Defining Moments in Inuit Art, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2012), cat. 43; Inuit Art Quarterly, Summer 1998, Vol. 3, No. 3, cover. Both the original drawing by Oonark and the print are illustrated in Winnipeg Art Gallery, Baker Lake Prints & Print Drawings 1970-76, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1983), p. 71. *In the 1970 catalogue, as well as on the print, the work is indicated as a "stonecut" print. We suggest that the work is a stonecut and stencil print.

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Pudlo Pudlat, Raven with Fish, 44/50, 1963

18 x 24 in.

This raven’s wacky plumage and wild eyes might almost have been designed by Lucy Qinnuayuak, but her birds never have the predatory look of this avian creature. The raven’s teeth would be incongruous if we didn’t remember that we are looking at a creation by Pudlo! This print was released in the same year as Pudlo’s Eagle Carrying Man, an image that is rather less graphic (and, astonishingly, the same year as Running Rabbit, see lot 7). A review of a few graphite drawings by Pudlo from c. 1961-62 indicates more subjects if not “red in tooth and claw” at least well armed with teeth and claws (see reference). Having said that, in the end Raven with Fish is still more comical than unsettling – it begs a “Pudlovian” response from us the viewers: a smile. References: For three graphite drawings from c. 1961-62 see Marie Routledge and Marion Jackson, Pudlo: Thirty Years of Drawing (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1990), cats. 10-12. This catalogue accompanied the National Gallery’s first-ever solo exhibition of an Indigenous Canadian artist.

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Annie Pootoogook, The Homecoming, 5/50, 2006

Etching and aquatint, 31 1/2 x 36 1/2 in.

This etching and aquatint is from the peak year of Annie Pootoogook's career, when she won the prestigious Sobey Art Award. It shows a joyous family reunion at the Cape Dorset airport, evoking the warmth of the extended family.

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Kananginak Pootoogook, Young Arctic Owl, 31/100, 1976

Stencil, 34 x 24 1/2 in.

A vigorous young Arctic owl by Kananginak, stretching its wing and flexing its talons. Kananginak was a meticulous observer of wildlife, and this image incorporates all of the owl's features into a dynamic, slightly abstract pose.

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Parr, Children chasing dogs, 31/50, 1965

13 3/4 x 30 1/2 in.

Parr's prints stand out among the early Cape Dorset prints, with their bold black-and-white textures (thanks to sensitive interpretation of Parr's pencil drawings by the printmaker, in this case Iyola Kingwatsiak) and complete disdain for scale. Many of Parr's prints show hunting scenes; this print is a light-hearted departure, showing children chasing dogs.

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Parr, Man and Whale, 29/50, 1962

Stonecut, 9 3/4 x 22 1/2 in.

Parr's stonecuts represent a true collaboration between Parr and the printmaker. Parr's pencil drawings are almost savage in style, with no details beyond the shape of the figures. Eegyvudluk Pootoogook was the artist who translated Parr's drawing into this stonecut. Prints resulting from the Eegyvudluk-Parr collaboration are almost always black-and-white, with vigorous texturing. Parr's drawings frequently juxtaposed different subjects and made no concessions to the relative size of the subjects, as is the case here.

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Parr, Three hunters with walrus, 34/50, 1967

Stone, Wood, sinew, antler, 21 1/2 x 29 1/2 in.

A fine example of Parr's depictions of traditional hunting. Three hunters are needed to haul the walrus out of the water; the walrus has been harpooned, but one of the hunters also carries a rifle. Parr's hunters here emphasize the importance of teamwork in the Arctic, and also the bulk and strength

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Elushushe Parr, Boy Playing with Dogs, 43/45, 1966

Stencil, 26 1/8 x 28 in.

Eleeshushe Parr was married to Parr, and both contributed singular prints to the Cape Dorset print collections. This elegant stencil shows a boy pretending to hunt two dogs. The figures are elegant and stylized.

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Kiakshuk, Man and Seal, 4/50, 1964

Stonecut, 12 1/4 x 16 in. (31.1 x 40.6 cm)

Kiakshuk created a series of stonecuts showing scenes from daily life, like this hunting scene. His figures, both human and animal, were quirky and stylized. Taken together, they present a vivid picture of traditional life on the land.

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Kiakshuk, Lumiuk and the whales, 1961

10 x 14 in.

Provenance Private Collection, Santa Fe, NM. Literature Mora Dianne O'Neill, et.al., Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Permanent Collection: Selected Works, (Halifax: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 2002), p. 92, which described the print, "...Lumiuk and the Whales is typical of the work purchased by the southern-run co-ops of the 1960s. It is a strong graphic image depicting a pod of stylized whales passing two equally stylized hunters on the shoreline. It is [...] powerfully rendered".

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Kiakshuk, Igloo and Dog Team, 32/50, 1961

12 1/4 x 24 in.

ex coll. Albrecht Collection of Arctic Art.
Kiakshuk excelled in depicting scenes from daily life. Here, the dog team huddles around the komatik, or sled, while the harness is neatly coiled on a pole. The igloo provides a perfect counterpoint -- cool and geometric -- to the dark animal forms of the dog team. It provides an excellent contrast to Pitseolak Ashoona's "Man Repairing a Sledge," which features the same elements.

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Pitseolak Ashoona, Man repairing sledge, 10/50, 1964/15

16 1/2 x 22 in.

Printmaker: Echalook Pingwartok Pitseolak Ashoona was a prolific graphic artist. Her prints were included in the annual Cape Dorset Print Collection every year from 1960 until 1983, when she died. In "Pitseolak: Pictures Out of My Life," she said, "I know I have had an unusual life, being born in a skin tent and living to hear on the radio that two men have landed on the moon. . . . To make prints is not easy. You must think first and this is hard to do. But I am happy doing the prints." Pitseolak is the matriarch of an artistic dynasty. Her sons Kiugak, Kaka and Kumwartok Ashoona, were prominent first-generation stone sculptors, and her only surviving daughter, Napachie Pootoogook, was a talented graphic artist whose own daughter, Annie Pootoogook, carried on the family's artistic line. "Man Repairing Sledge," like many of Pitseolak's images, shows a scene from daily life. The treatment of the igloos is typical of early Cape Dorset prints, capturing the essence of the scene, but making no attempt to deal with perspective. Rows of ice blocks are depicted continuously across two igloos, one in front and one in back. The dogs' antics animate the scene. Although it incorporates the same elements as Kiakshuk's "Igloo and Dog Team," Pitseolak's print is warmer and lighter in atmosphere.

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Jutai Toonoo, The Land, 2010

27 1/8 x 42 7/8 in.

This is an unusually lyrical drawing by Jutai Toonoo, who was known more for his strong, often tortured portraits. However, Jutai was born on the land and made a series of landscapes that revealed a deep love for the Arctic landscape.

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Tudlik, Man Killing Seal, 1961

20 x 29 in.

Tudlik's early print shows no conception of perspective. The hunter's two arms are of wildly different lengths; there is no demarcation between the hunter on top of the ice and the seal underneath the ice; the coiled rope attached to the harpoon is deconstructed into a series of concentric lines. And yet the image is compelling.

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Pitseolak Ashoona, Night demons of sky and earth, 19/50, 1961/54, 1961

Stonecut, 24 1/4 x 36 3/4 in. (61.6 x 93.3 cm)

Printer: Iyola Kingwatsiak, 1933-2000 Pitseolak Ashoona was a prolific graphic artist. Her prints were included in the annual Cape Dorset Print Collection every year from 1960 until 1983, when she died. In "Pitseolak: Pictures Out of My Life," she said, "I know I have had an unusual life, being born in a skin tent and living to hear on the radio that two men have landed on the moon. . . . To make prints is not easy. You must think first and this is hard to do. But I am happy doing the prints." Pitseolak is the matriarch of an artistic dynasty. Her sons Kiugak, Kaka and Kumwartok Ashoona, were prominent first-generation stone sculptors, and her only surviving daughter, Napachie Pootoogook, was a talented graphic artist whose own daughter, Annie Pootoogook, carried on the family's artistic line. This early print is reminiscent of Kenojuak Ashevak's "Night Spirits" from 1960, but Pitseolak's version has a dynamic, unified structure, suggesting a more orderly community of spirits.

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Angotigolu Teevee, Spirits reaching for the moon, 14/50

20 1/2 x 13 in.

Between 1961 and 1964, Angotigolu Teevee created twelve prints that were included in the early Cape Dorset annual print collections. Like this stonecut, her images were full of quirky characters, combining realistic and fantastic features. They leave one wondering what direction her creativity would have taken had she lived longer.

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Nicodemus Nowyook, Planning to catch young gulls, 1977

13 x 24 in.

Nicodemus Nowyook created 17 prints, almost all stencils, between 1972 and 1985. Most depicted scenes from daily life with bright colors and delicate lines. Here, two kayakers in the foreground contemplate a hunt for young gulls from the rookery seen in the background. Stencils from Pangnirtung, like Nowyook's, were quite different from Cape Dorset stencils. Cape Dorset stencils tended to feature large scale designs; Pangnirtung's tended to be more intimate.

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Effie ANGALI'TAAQ ARNALUAQ, Whimbrels (curlews)

11 x 24 1/2 in.

An early experimental stencil print. This rare image came from the Albrecht Collection of Arctic Art.

03467-2

Kananginak Pootoogook, Eider duck, 1962

8 x 6 in.

Unsigned artist's proof. This quirky engraving shows Kananginak experimenting with foreshortening. It was unusual for Inuit printmakers to use perspective, let alone tackle the difficult problems of foreshortening.

Pitseolak Ashoona, Festive Bird, 48/50, 1970

24 x 33 1/2 in.

ex coll. Albrecht Collection of Arctic Art
If you look closely, you can see the outlines of the bird's head, body and legs, which are surrounded by and filled with an explosion of colorful feathers. This print simply radiates joy. Its design is much more fluid than Pitseolak's scenes of daily life, but it relates back to her early depictions of demons, such as "Night Demons of Earth and Sky" and "Man with Beasts."

Kananginak Pootoogook, Games of strength, 33/50, 1976

34 x 25 in.

Pudlo Pudlat, Journey into Fantasy, 50/50, 1983

A classic print by Pudlo, combining themes from traditional life and modern technology in a fantasy world. Pudlo's prints frequently incorporated airplanes and other non-traditional images. They also frequently played with the scale of the images, juxtaposing, for example, small boats and oversize loons. Here, the airplane is loaded onto a komatik (sled), which is being pulled by another airplane. The other komatiks contain umiaks, and appear to be pulled by seals harnessed to the komatiks. All of this stonecut detail occurs in a fantasy landscape, with a stenciled image of colored mountains.

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Kiakshuk, Kikavik and the Hunter, 18/50, 1960

23 1/2 x 28 in.

Kiakshuk drew upon his experience and old stories for the subjects of his prints. This dramatic scene includes an owl with outstretched wings (a kikavik), a hunter, and three fantastic bird spirits. At about the same time, Kenojuak Ashevak and Pitseolak Ashoona were also creating prints with fantasy spirits or demons.

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Kiakshuk, Owl attacking snow goose, 10/50, 1961/8, 1961

Stonecut, 12 1/2 x 16 in. (31.8 x 40.6 cm)

Printer: Lukta Qiatsuq, 1928-2004 This stonecut is a complete departure from Kiakshuk's scenes of daily life. The hapless goose squawks in terror, about to be fast in the owl's talons. The owl's feathers are intricately patterned, in contrast to the white snow goose, visually suggesting a struggle between the forces of light and darkness.

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Niviaksiak, The Archer, 41/50, 1960

24 x 12 in.

The Archer is one of Niviaksiak's iconic images. The archer's intense concentration on the flock of birds overhead is palpable.

Nicotye Samayualie, Untitled landscape, 2012

Coloured pencil and pentel pen on paper, 19 1/2 x 51 in. (49.5 x 129.5 cm)

Nicotye Samayualie is one of the rising stars among Cape Dorset graphic artists. In this diptych, showing a landscape near Cape Dorset, the artist repeats similar elements with subtle variations to create a dynamic image.

01768-2

$1,200

Qavavau Manumie, Untitled (Bear and fish)

22 x 30 in.

03514-2

Sheojuk Etidlooie, Pitsiit (Drying char), 10/50, 1998

22 x 28 in.

Sheojuk Etidlooie's graphics frequently are highly abstracted. This print, in contrast, is quite realistic, with the bone structure of the individual pieces of drying char depicted clearly. However, the overall impression is an abstraction, with the char isolated from their surroundings.

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Malaya Akulukjuk, Sunrise at Tanaqaaq, 9/20, 1988-89

Wool, 40 1/2 x 54 in. (102.9 x 137.2 cm)

Malaya Akulukjuk was the Jessie Oonark of Pangnirtung. She
produced many hundreds of drawings, with thirty-five turned
into prints. Moreover, her images completed dominated the
tapestry weaving program during her lifetime. She was a
strong-willed woman who loved to hunt, and was reputed to be
a shaman. While many of her images represent various aspects
of the spirit world, she also created designs for a number of
beautiful large landscapes for the weaving studio in the last
ten years of her life. Another copy of this tapestry is
displayed in the halls of the House of Commons in Canada's
Parliament Buildings.
The weaver is Igah Etuangat (1943- )

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Sheouak Petaulassie, Pot Spirits, 32/50, 1960

12 x 17 in.

NOT FOR SALE. Possibly Sheouak's most famous image, Pot Spirits is a light-hearted fantasy of animated cooking implements. Sheouak Petaulassie was one of the first women to make prints at the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative in Cape Dorset. Her prints appeared in two of the earliest Cape Dorset print collections -- 1960 and 1961 --but, tragically, she died prematurely in 1961.

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