This endearing depiction of a mother hawk nestling her young chick appears to be imbued with the maternal love that Kenojuak held for her own children. The artist has combined elements of her personal, distinctive style, such as the almond-shaped eyes, downturned beaks, and simple lines suggestive of feathers to create a tender moment in the life of a young bird. The mother hawk’s beak is ajar as if in speech, as the pair look off into the distance. Perhaps she is imparting a lesson in hunting or flying. The younger hawk, still enveloped in the safe embrace of its mother, listens attentively, perhaps envisioning the next stage of its life.

References: For various sculptures by Kenojuak see Jean Blodgett, Kenojuak, (Toronto: Firefly Books / Mintmark Press Ltd., 1985); Odette Leroux ed., Inuit Women Artists, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / Gatineau, Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1994); George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: M&S, 1972/92); and Sculpture / Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971).