CONLUCY NAYOUMEALOOK (1891-1958) INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON), Standing Woman in an Amautiq, mid-1950s

This lovely Standing Woman was previously unattributed, but our research shows that it is definitely by the Inukjuak artist Conlucy Nayoumealook. Two identified depictions of women, in the Winnipeg Art Gallery and Art Gallery of Ontario collections respectively, have high distinctive, identically shaped hoods. This unusual shape of amautiq hood - a shallow, broad triangular prism with a slightly rounded peak - and the way it frames the woman’s face, is Nayoumealook’s own invention. The broad hood establishes the proportions for the entire sculpture, giving Standing Woman quite a commanding sculptural presence. The rather unusual cut of the woman’s front parka flap is also distinctive and can be seen on the WAG example as well. Note also that this woman is shown wearing a skirt or dress underneath her amautiq; this is seen quite commonly in Salluit sculpture, but only rarely in Inukjuak art.

Literature: For similarly styled works by the artist see Darlene Coward Wight, The Jerry Twomey Collection (WAG, 2003), p. 26, also in Bernadette Driscoll, The Inuit Amautik: I Like My Hood To Be Full (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1980), p. 55; Jean Blodgett, Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983), p. 178.

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CONLUCY NAYOUMEALOOK (1891-1958) INUKJUAK (PORT HARRISON)

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