In our December 5, 2022 auction (Lot 134) we discussed how Ennutsiak can be seen as a documentarian, preserving in stone his memories of rapidly disappearing camp life. Indeed, it is in no small part thanks to artists such as Ennutsiak and the photographs of the late Peter Pitseolak of Cape Dorset (1902-1973) that we have such a compelling visual record of traditional Inuit life on the land. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Ennutsiak seldom depicted the “solitary Inuk" and he preferred, instead, to document scenes of a more communal nature. Ennutsiak carved a wide variety of subjects including intimate family scenes such as bible study, birthing scenes complete with midwives and attendants, and communal activities such as walrus hunting and boat building.

This wonderful composition comes from the same private collection as Women Making a Kayak from our December 2022 sale (Lot 77), and one wonders whether it was not intended as an earlier chapter in the same story. Here we see three women (accompanied by a disinterested child) busily sewing seal skins supported on a vertical pole. Presumably, once these skins have been properly sewn together, they will be ready to be stretched over and sewn onto the kayak frame. Beautifully carved from a single piece of stone with nothing but rudimentary tools (by today’s standards) and including an unusual amount of negative space for the artist, this sculpture is a testament to the ingenuity of Inuit women, and to Ennutsiak’s.