-
Artworks
SHEKOALOAK (c. 1940-1959) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Young Woman, 1959 #32Printmaker: IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
stonecut, 21 x 12 in (53.3 x 30.5 cm), irregular
35/50LOT 69
ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500
PRICE REALIZED: $3,000.00While the image of a standing woman with a child peeking out from the depth of her amautiq hood are now defining icons of Inuit art, it is important to...While the image of a standing woman with a child peeking out from the depth of her amautiq hood are now defining icons of Inuit art, it is important to remember that Shekoaloak’s print, Young Woman — along with Lukta Qiatusk’s contribution — are the first graphic images produced for trade to depict the subject.
In Young Woman, there is a vivid sense of verticality that is reiterated by the sheer size of the figure’s form on the sheet where the woman stands in a sort of timeless suspension. The resulting effect is one that gives this young mother an undeniable presence. It is unfortunate that Shekoaloak would pass away before the inaugural Kinngait print collection release and before seeing what an enduring icon of Inuit art his imagery foreshadowed.
References: This print is reproduced along with the original drawing in Christine Lalonde and Leslie Boyd Ryan, Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset 1959-2009, (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009), cat nos. 3 & 4, p. 26. See Lukta Qiatsuq’s Mother and Child, 1959 #14.
Provenance
Collection of John and Joyce Price, Seattle.