Pitseolak Niviaqsi was the son of the famous Niviaqsi (1908-1959) and certainly inherited his father’s skills. A master lithographer, he devoted much of his time to the printmaking studios in Cape Dorset, creating several hundred prints since the mid 1970s. Due to his extensive work in the print studio, however, Niviaqsi was not a prolific sculptor until his “retirement” in 1990. This magnificent depiction of a bird of prey with fish displays exquisite detail and wonderful use of negative space. The elegant sculpture compares quite favourably with the avian compositions of Osuitok Ipeelee and Toonoo Sharky.

References: For a similarly styled bird by the artist see Derek Norton and Nigel Reading, Cape Dorset Sculpture, (Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 2005), p. 84. For more works by the artist see the Spirit Wrestler solo exhibition catalogue, The Lyrical World of Pitseolak Niviaqsi, (Vancouver: Spirit Wrestler Gallery, 2001).