The present work is a clear departure from the slender-legged caribou and finely poised birds for which Osuitok is well known. This divergence is part of the power of Sheltering Muskox. This work is not a study in delicacy but in density. It is a creature rendered with remarkable mass and physicality and the sculpture carries its weight with conviction, with Osuitok illustrating not just the form of the animal, but its force, its groundedness, its sheer presence.

Carved from the newly discovered stone deposit at Markham Bay, over time, the stone has oxidized into a rich burnished brown, a patina that mirrors the animal’s thick, dark coat, aligning the form in both material richness and natural realism.

The animal is depicted with its legs tucked fully beneath its body, the form drawn inward into a compact, almost spherical mass. The head turns in toward the body, nestled along the side in a gesture that suggests further shelter, a protective instinct against the cold. This stylized depiction reflects the way muskoxen lie down in a nestled pose to conserve heat, especially during blizzards or while resting in groups. Though the actual posture is less compact than the sculpture suggests, the essence is accurate in capturing the animal’s strategy of endurance and insulation in extreme weather.

The coat is carved in broad, sculpted swells that seem to move across the body in rhythmic, directional waves. These carved ridges do more than suggest the thickness of the animal’s hair. They evoke motion, as if the icy wind were perpetually sweeping through its long outer coat. Osuitok’s brilliance lies in his command of surface and texture. The body of this muskox is covered in thousands of fine incisions, each mark contributing to the depiction of its warm wool coat. This intricate scoring is not mechanical or repetitive but highly responsive, varying in direction, length, and depth to mirror the natural flow of hair across the animal’s form.

Osuitok leaves the body largely unpolished. In contrast, the face is brought to a high polish that is smooth and radiant when caught by the light. This gleaming surface becomes the emotional and visual anchor of the work and it is disarmingly tender. The opposition between the two treatments is a masterclass by the artist. It heightens our awareness of dualities: form and detail, protection and vulnerability. Gorgeous.

ND

References: For a similar work, see First Arts, Lot 63, 13 July 2021. We note that there is an obvious connection to be made here with Osutiok's experiment 1957/8 print Musk Ox. Beyond the simple visual and conceptual kinship in that the singular muskox is the monumental subject, the horn in the sculpture mirrors the print’s treatment through its smooth polish and bold, clean curve, echoing the use of negative space in the print where the horn stands out in crisp relief against the dark mass of the body. The physicality of the two works can also be likened through their shared emphasis on mass, contour, and containment. See also a head of a muskox, by the artist in Virginia Watt et al., Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec: The Permanent Collection: Inuit Arts and Crafts c. 1900-1980, (Montreal: Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, 1980), cat. 114, p. 96.