ELIJAH PUDLAT POOTOOGOOK (1943-) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET), Bas-Relief Architectural Panel, mid-late 1960s

ELIJAH PUDLAT POOTOOGOOK (1943-) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

Bas-Relief Architectural Panel, mid-late 1960s

stone, 18.75 x 18.75 x 2.25 in (47.6 x 47.6 x 5.7 cm)
signed, "ᐃᓚᐃᔭ / ᐳᓚ";
inscribed in black ink, in an unknown hand, "PREMIER ROBARTS".

LOT 38
ESTIMATE: $900 — $1,200

On September 30, 1969, Ontario premier John Robarts, together with Signe and Robert McMichael, formally clarified the mandate of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. The original 1965 agreement had created uncertainty about whether the Collection could acquire Inuit sculpture. Their amendment confirmed that it could be expanded through the purchase or donation of works reflecting Canada’s cultural heritage, effectively opening the door to Inuit art.

The dedication carved along the bottom of this bas-relief suggests that it was not simply made as a decorative wall panel, but was intended to commemorate this decision, perhaps as a presentation to Robarts or to the McMichael Collection itself. The choice of format seems especially appropriate. A bas-relief is sculpture, but it hangs and reads much like a painting, neatly bridging the McMichael’s original focus on Canadian painting with its newly affirmed commitment to Inuit sculpture. It may have served both as an artwork and as a tangible acknowledgement of Robarts’s role in bringing Inuit art more firmly within the Collection’s mandate.

Provenance

By repute: given to Hon. John P. Robarts (former Ontario Premier, 1961-1971);
with Empire Auctions, Montreal, QC;
An Ontario Collection.

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