In his 1976 book on the sculpture of Salluit, Barry A. Roberts describes Lucassie Usaitaijuk as a “dignified, gentlemanly figure who carved until his death in 1962. His pieces were often small, almost miniature and not always signed” [1]. Roberts makes reference to published examples by the artist, but other than that we know nothing about the artist who carved this masterpiece. We know that his wife Miaiji Uitangi (1911-65) was also a carver; a lovely small carving of similar style attributed to her is illustrated in Bernadette Driscoll’sThe Inuit Amautik catalogue (see reference), which does leave us wondering how much the two artists might have collaborated.

The sculpture of Salluit (Sugluk) has long been one of our favourite styles. It is a happy accident: a brief but brilliant flowering that occurred in the community between 1955 and 1960. Most adults in the community – interestingly, women as well as men – became carvers, and for a brief time Salluit carving production actually exceeded Cape Dorset’s. Sadly, the poor stone and sagging market demand soon ended the brave experiment.

We like to think of Lucassie Usaitaijuk’s Mother and Child as a miracle within an accident. Carved from a warm brown, fine-grained stone that is quite unlike the coarse grey Kovik River stone that was normally available to local artists, this stupendously beautiful work fits within the Salluit aesthetic but stands out as one of its greatest masterpieces. Its impressive scale already marks it as something unusual; the mother’s attenuated body and comparatively small head, hands and feet actually amplify the sculpture’s monumentality. The subtle and sometimes surprising interplay of curves and planes is brilliant; the edge of the parka hood enclosing a flat plane that seems like a baptismal font (with the child seemingly anointing its mother’s head) - astonishing; the echoing curves of the arms, parka flap, and legs - harmonious and lovely; the simple “slash” grooves delineating clothing folds and the mother’s breasts - economical and elegant. The blend of the sculpture’s unassuming, charming naïveté with its undeniable sophistication and elegance makes Mother and Child stand out as one of the glories of Inuit sculpture. Dare we say world sculpture.

1. Barry A. Roberts, The Inuit Artists of Sugluk, P.Q. (FCNQ, 1976), p. 59.

Literature: Of the few known examples of the artist’s work the example that comes fairly close to this one is a slightly smaller Mother and Child in the Sarick Collection at the AGO (illustrated in Celine Saucier, Guardians of Memory, 1998, fig. 118). For other examples of Usaitaijuk’s sculpture see George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture Esquimaude (Toronto: M&S, 1965), p. 135, and Darlene Wight, The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1987), p. 30 for two views of the lovely Mother and Child with Fish by Usaitaijuk, dated 1954. See also W.T. Larmour, Inunnit: The Art of the Canadian Eskimo (Ottawa: Information Canada, 1967), p. 47; and Barry A. Roberts, The Inuit Artists of Sugluk, P.Q. (FCNQ, 1976), p. 59. For a beautiful Seated Mother Holding Child by Lucassie’s wife Miaiji Uitangi Usaitaijuk see Bernadette Driscoll, The Inuit Amautik: I Like My Hood To Be Full (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1980), p. 50.