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Artworks
TUDLIK (1890-1966) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Owl, c. 1959-60stone, 2 x 4.25 x 1.25 in (5.1 x 10.8 x 3.2 cm)
unsigned.LOT 165
ESTIMATE: $2,000 — $3,000
PRICE REALIZED: $5,040.00Further images
Tudlik moved to the Cape Dorset area in the early 1950s and immediately became one of the first local Inuit to carve for James Houston. Tudlik carved a variety of...Tudlik moved to the Cape Dorset area in the early 1950s and immediately became one of the first local Inuit to carve for James Houston. Tudlik carved a variety of animal subjects but is best remembered for his depictions of birds, especially owls. Carved in the lovely green stone found near Cape Dorset in the late 1950s, this charming Owl is interesting for its sense of implied movement. Its forward lean suggests that it is alighting or perhaps swooping towards its prey. Tudlik briefly became an important graphic artist, authoring several of the most famous early Cape Dorset print images, but failing eyesight put an end to his art career by about 1961. His sons Latcholassie (Lot 166) and Tigullaraq (Lot 3) became respected artists as well.
References: For owls by Tudlik see George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1965), p. 85; George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92), figs. 6, 441, 445, 451, 471; Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Sculpture / Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), cats. 196, 199, 204. Also see First Arts Auction, 14 June 2022, Lot 11.Provenance
Private Collection;
Waddington’s Auctions, Toronto, Nov. 2001, Lot 338;
Private Collection, Santa Fe, NM.
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