OSUITOK IPEELEE, R.C.A. (1922-2005) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET), Caribou Head Emerging from Water, c. early 1980s

While we have been most fortunate in being able to present several spectacular walking, rearing, or resting caribou by Osuitok over the past several years, we take great pleasure in offering this spectacular swimming iteration of the artist's most famous subject. While we are perhaps more familiar with the animal presented in an upright pose as if seen from a distance, quite often the more compelling view for the Inuit hunter is an up-close encounter with a swimming caribou. Hunting scenes depicting swimming caribou pursued by hunters in kayaks are quite common in Inuit graphic art, particularly from Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake). [1] And notably, not every sculptural portrait of a caribou head depicts a swimming animal. This lovely example truly gives the sense of the animal moving through water.

Instead of presenting us with a small and delicate head in scale with his “typical” portraits of the animal, Osuitok has opted to create a work at essentially life-size, matching the scale of the animal’s head to a full pair of antlers. And instead of stylizing the forms as he normally does, Osuitok has carved realistic proportions and details that are beautifully rendered, bestowing upon the sculpture a remarkably lifelike appearance. Furthermore, Osuitok has given the portrait a sense of fear and urgency, as it strains to reach the shore safely. Sensational!

1. For an example of a caribou hunting scene see Luke Anguhadluq’s Kayaks and Caribou (First Arts, 12 June 2023, Lot 126).

References: For other fine Caribou Heads by the artist see Gerald McMaster, ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), p. 139; and Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983), cat. 72, p. 19 and 114; also Jean Blodgett, “Osuitok Ipeelee” in Alma Houston ed., Inuit Art: An Anthology, (Winnipeg: Watson and Dwyer Publishing, 1988), p. 51.

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OSUITOK IPEELEE, R.C.A. (1922-2005) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)

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