Nadine
OLD: In the expansive art scene of the Canadian Arctic, where the reverie of drum dance scenes is frequently illustrated, Woman with Musical Instrument offers a rather unique scene of music-making in the north. The seated woman plays a tautirut, an Inuit bowed zither sometimes referred to as an Inuit fiddle. The instrument was possibly introduced to Inuit by Hudson’s Bay Company sailors from the Shetland or Orkney Islands. In this woman’s tranquil visage and half-open mouth and with the gentle arc of her bow in her right hand, we sense a song unfurling. Delightful. As with Pootoogook’s Caribou (Lot 32), this print image was distilled from a larger drawing depicting the musician and a dancing male figure. The equally delightful graphite drawing is illustrated in Lalonde and Ryan, Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset 1959-2009 (Ottawa: National Gallery, 2009), cat. 35, p. 26.
References: Image reproduced in Norman Vorano, Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration, (Gatineau: Canadian Museum of Civilization, 2011), cat 3., p. 65; and in Christine Lalonde and Leslie Boyd Ryan, Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset 1959-2009, (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009), cat. 34, p. 26, reproduced with the original graphite drawing that features didactic text “ᑕᐅᑎᒍᐊᑐ” and over the woman and “ᑕᓂᓯᑐ” above the dancing figure, which was omitted in the print. In the 1959 catalogue, the print is entitled Woman with Musical Instruments.

Inuit culture is one of the few cultures of the Americas to have a chordophone tradition. Kananginak Pootoogook, Joseph Pootoogook’s son, created a print with Lukta Qiatsuk entitled The Dance (The Fiddle Player), 1961 also feature a string instrument. Joe Talirunili has also depicted women playing the fiddle; see Woman Playing Fiddle, illustrated in Gerald McMaster, ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), p. 79; Fiddler and Instrument, in the TD Bank Collection, illustrated in The Eskimo Art Collection of The Toronto-Dominion Bank, (Toronto: The Toronto-Dominon Bank, n.d. [c. 1967?], no. 79; and Woman Playing a Fiddle, Walker’s Auctions, 5 May 2015, Lot 201.
In the vibrant Canadian Arctic art scene, where drum dance scenes are commonly depicted, Woman with Musical Instrument presents a distinctive portrayal of music-making in the north. The depicted woman is seated, playing a tautirut, an Inuit bowed zither sometimes called an Inuit fiddle, possibly introduced by Hudson’s Bay Company sailors from the Shetland or Orkney Islands. Her serene expression and slightly open mouth, coupled with the gentle curve of her bow, suggest a song in the making. This print was derived from a larger drawing that included the musician and a dancing male figure. The charming original graphite drawing is featured in Lalonde and Ryan's Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset 1959-2009 (Ottawa: National Gallery, 2009), cat. 35, p. 26.