This wonderful Mother and Child by Kiakshuk is carved from the beautiful mottled green stone typical of sculpture from Kinngait in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The woman’s form features a slightly elongated torso with curves clearly defined through her amauti. Kiakshuk became known also for his graphic depictions, both graphite drawings and prints, the distinctive form of his female figures on paper is echoed here in stone. The sculpture is also reminiscent of Kiakshuk’s stonecut print from 1961, Eskimo Mother with Fox Trap. Standing in traditional clothing, the mother’s facial expression is stoic and serene; her young child peaks over her shoulder, clearly engaging the viewer as well. Carved with simplicity and sincerity, the work is utterly charming; but it is also imbued with surprising strength, monumentality, and a feeling of timelessness.

References: For a similarly styled figure of a woman by Kiakshuk see Feheley Fine Arts, The Ryan Collection, (Toronto: Feheley Fine Arts, 1998), p. 8. For another see Feheley Fine Arts, Cross-Currents: Cape Dorset in the 1960s, (Toronto: Feheley Fine Arts, 2001), cat. 55.