While the celebrated Cape Dorset sculptor Osuitok Ipeelee is perhaps best known for his depictions of birds and caribou, his portraits of women – and they likely are portraits – were among his own favourite subjects and are now among his most prized works. A carving of a mother and child is among his earliest known sculptures, and in 1957 he carved a stunning standing woman (Sarick Collection, AGO). Osuitok created a lovely Fisherwoman in 1963 (TD Bank), and he continued carving “beautiful women” occasionally well into the 1980s.

Young Woman Playing a Concertina is among his most refined and elegant portrayals. It is also a very rare theme, as the great majority of Osuitok’s female subjects are engaged in fishing or camp chores. The young woman is slender; her beautifully trimmed parka is form-fitting, with a spectacularly voluminous hood that frames her gentle face beautifully and allows ample room for her gorgeous braided hair. The woman’s hands are small and sensitively carved. The composition as a whole has an air of delicacy and even intimacy. We get the feeling that this young lady is performing especially for Osuitok. It’s a magnificent sculpture and charming to boot.

Literature: For other lovely portrayals of women by Osuitok see First Arts, May 2019, Lot 28 and July 2020, Lot 80; Toronto-Dominion Bank, The Eskimo Art Collection of the Toronto-Dominion Bank (Toronto: 1972), cat. 73; Jean Blodgett, “Osuitok Ipeelee” in Alma Houston, ed., Inuit Art: An Anthology (Watson & Dwyer, 1988), p. 45-46; Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), p. 67. See also Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, May 2012, Lot 17; Nov. 2012, Lot 60; May 2013, Lot 22; May 2016, Lot 48; and Nov. 2017, Lot 143.