One of Johnny Inukpuk’s greatest masterpieces from the early 1950s, this Mother Holding a Swaddled Infant was originally unattributed, but is clearly by the hand of the artist. Stylistically it is strikingly similar to a famous masterwork by Inukpuk, his Mother and Child of 1954 in the collection of the Canadian Museum of History, a work that has been much exhibited and published (see Hessel, Inuit Art, pl. 59; Early Masters, p. 82; and elsewhere). Our example is slightly larger, and somewhat differently posed (kneeling and holding a swaddled baby rather than seated in front of a qulliq) but overall, the two sculptures’ low centre of gravity and fulsome proportions are the very much the same, as are lovely small details such as the delicate facial tattoos and the parka trim. Both works are carved in the luscious, opalescent green stone that makes these impressive works especially attractive and prized. (In Early Masters Darlene Wight notes that Inukpuk was especially good at sourcing good stone; it may have been he who discovered this important deposit.) Indeed, the sculptures are so similar in style that it is anyone’s guess which one was carved first; our hunch is this one came first.

Mother Holding a Swaddled Infant features all the hallmarks of Johnny Inukpuk’s first important period. These include the ripe, voluptuous volumes of the sculpture overall; the mother’s head, clothing, and hands – and even the infant itself – appear as if they have been slightly over-inflated with a bicycle pump! The large hands would remain a strong feature of the artist’s work for many years to come. The generous sculptural volumes contrast beautifully with the elegant, incised details – especially the exquisite tattoo marks on the mother’s cheeks and chin. The ivory inset eyes of mother and child are expertly done; their effect is beautifully haunting in the case of the mother, and hilarious in the case of the baby! And as with so many of Inukpuk’s depictions of mothers, this work is a portrait of the artist’s beloved wife Mary. Finally, we would like to call attention to the subtle and brilliant aspects of the composition itself. We love the interplay of angles and volumes throughout – in the swaddled infant, the arms and hands that hold it, and especially in the winsome tilt of the mother’s head. Fantastic.

References: For a quite similar and contemporaneous work by the artist in the Canadian Museum of History collection see Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / New York: Harry Abrams / London: British Museum Press, 1998), pl. 49, p. 65; and Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955, (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006), p. 82. For a slightly later but similarly styled work by Inukpuk see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 70 and 289 (pp. 50 and 159). For a Woman Holding a Fish and Ulu by Inukpuk, also from 1964, see George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, Ltd., 1965), p. 142. For a fine, slightly earlier Mother and Child with Fish in the Power Family Collection at the University of Michigan (c. 1952-53) see Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Sculpture / Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), cat. 260. For an earlier Mother and Child by Inukpuk (described as c. 1950 but more likely c. 1952) see Waddington’s Auctions, Toronto, Nov. 18, 2013, Lot 102. See also Man Inflating Avataq from 1954 in the Canadian Museum of History collection (Early Masters, p. 86).