Latcholassie was the son of the famous sculptor and graphic artist Tudlik, and like his father Latcholassie’s favourite subjects were birds, especially owls. Many of his birds are playful anthropomorphic inventions, with human attributes and poses. Latcholassie’s sculptures are loved for their sense of whimsy and humour, and appreciated for a certain degree of abstraction. As Jean Blodgett writes in the 1986 Robertson Collection catalogue: “On the one hand Latcholassie tends to concentrate on the basic shape and configuration of his form, doing little detail work or surface decoration…On the other hand, even within these restrictions, Latcholassie’s presentation of his bird subject is richly varied. By changes in such things as size, proportion, position, and attributes, he imbues his bird subjects with individuality and character” [1].

This delightful owl is carved from the white marble discovered at Andrew Gordon Bay near Kinngait in the late 1960s. Most of the important Kinngait sculptors did try it out; we would argue that Latcholassie made the best use of it, in both large and small scale works. The white stone is of course perfectly suited to representing snowy owls, but it wasn’t verisimilitude that Latcholassie was going after, it was personality. And personality is captured in pose and expression. This Owl is particularly endearing because it reaches out to the viewer. We marvel at its apparent simplicity of execution, coupled with its almost profound sense of humanity - but it’s a owl… You know, Latcholassie’s works would have not felt out of place in Norman Zepp’s 1986 Pure Vision exhibition and catalogue.

1. Jean Blodgett, Selections from the John and Mary Robertson Collection of Inuit Sculpture (1986), p. 35.

Literature: For other fine examples of Latcholassie sculptures in marble see Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), pp. 136-137; Jean Blodgett, Selections from the John and Mary Robertson Collection of Inuit Sculpture (Kingston: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1986), cat. 14; Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, May 2012, Lot 62; Nov. 2012, Lot 164; Nov. 2013, Lot 23; Nov. 2014, Lot 73, May 2018, Lot 66. For other classic works by the artist see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit (Toronto: M&S, 1972/92), figs. 469-475; Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Sculpture/Inuit (University of Toronto Press, 1971) cats. 189, 192-194; Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario), cats. 64-65.