CECILIE KLEIST (1949-) GREENLAND

The daughter of renowned artist Aron Kleist (1923-1989), Cecilie began carving sperm whale ivory at an early age, selling her carvings in local shops from as early as 1966. Unlike most tupilak carvers Cecilie Kleist eschewed large negative spaces, preferring to carve figures in bas-relief and texturing them with fine cuts that give the carvings a “furry” look, practices she learned from her father. She married a Dane and moved to Denmark in 1975, but eventually gave up carving and sadly died at the young age of 39. There is a museum in Qaqortoq devoted to the art of both father and daughter. Man and Woman is an exquisite example of her work, carved with delicacy and feeling.

References: Birte Haagen’s book Aron Kleist and Cecilie Kleist: Two Greenlandic Artists and their magic world was published in 2005. For ivory works by the artist see Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, 5 May 2013, Lots 143-145; Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, 16 November 2016, Lots 286-287; and Walker’s Auction, Ottawa 22 November 2017, Lots 251-252. Alistair Macduff devoted the entire Greenland chapter of his book Lords of the Stone to the ivory work of Cecilie Kleist, Alistair Macduff and George M. Galpin, Lords of the Stone: An Anthology of Eskimo Sculpture, (North Vancouver: Whitecap Books Ltd., 1982)