First Arts company logo
First Arts
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Available Artworks
  • Auctions & Exhibitions
  • About
  • SERVICES
  • News & Blog
Menu

Artworks

Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: JESSIE OONARK, O.C., R.C.A (1906-1985) QAMANI'TUAQ (BAKER LAKE), Untitled (Helicopter and Bird Transformations), c. 1976-78

JESSIE OONARK, O.C., R.C.A (1906-1985) QAMANI'TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)

Untitled (Helicopter and Bird Transformations), c. 1976-78
coloured pencil on paper, 22 x 30 in (55.9 x 76.2 cm)
signed, "ᐅᓇ".
LOT 128
ESTIMATE: $4,000 — $6,000
PRICE REALIZED: $5,520.00
View on a Wall
As we noted in our discussion of Oonark’s fabulous work on cloth Composition with Skidoos and Ulus in this sale (Lot 28), modern forms of transportation such as snowmobiles, airplanes,...
Read more

As we noted in our discussion of Oonark’s fabulous work on cloth Composition with Skidoos and Ulus in this sale (Lot 28), modern forms of transportation such as snowmobiles, airplanes, and helicopters are quite rare, even though they have been remarked upon over the years – small wonder; they are remarkable! And it really is a fluke that we have two such works in one sale.


Helicopter and Bird Transformations is one of the most whimsical and delightful Oonark drawings we have seen in quite some time. Strongly rendered in lovely complimentary colours, the image is as confidently and crisply drawn as it is strangely enigmatic and puzzling. The helicopter seems to be transforming into a duck until we realize that the duck’s bill more resembles a wolf’s snout. Furthermore, its eyes are strangely human. We love the way Oonark has used a bit of mixed perspective, with the helicopter’s eyes shown on this side of the head, and the two pontoons drawn one below the other. Also hilarious are the male “pilot” and the female “back seat driver” – as if either of them would have any control over the situation. A small but curious element, too, is the furry ball sitting atop the rotor mast, which looks rather like a bird’s nest. Rounding out the magical quirkiness of this composition are two remarkable and incredibly charming creatures: a hare balancing on two legs on the helicopter’s tail cone, and a wonderful human-bird who seems to be running to catch the flight.


The popular Cape Dorset artist Pudlo Pudlo would become famous in the 1980s for his whimsical scenes involving airplanes and helicopters. If Oonark had lived longer, she certainly could have given him a run for his money. Absolutely sensational.


References: For another quite different take on a transforming helicopter by Oonark, see Jean Blodgett and Marie Bouchard, Jessie Oonark: A Retrospective, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1986), cat. 73, p. 131, and the volume itself for an overview of drawings by Oonark. This catalogue remains the definitive publication on the life and work of the artist.
Close full details

Provenance

Private Collection, Lunenburg, NS.

Exhibitions

Edmonton, AB, Edmonton Art Gallery, Inuit Art in Edmonton Collections, as “Drawing (Helicopter, Inuit, Animals)” and "c. 1975".
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email

FIRST ARTS PREMIERS INC.  
 647-286-5012   |    info@firstarts.ca 

 

The main office of First Arts Premiers Inc. is located on the ancestral and traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Huron-Wendat, the original owners and custodians of this land.  Today, it is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

 

 

 

Join Our Mailing List

 

JOIN

 

 

 

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Send an email
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025 First Arts
Site by Artlogic

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences
Close

Join our mailing list

Join

* denotes required fields

We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.