Deeply devoted to her family, Elizabeth Nutaraaluk carved mothers and children almost to the exclusion of all other subjects. Mother and Two Children is, therefore, a particularly appealing variation, bringing together two children, or perhaps grandchildren, rather than the customary one.

Here, Nutaraaluk has followed the natural shape of the stone, allowing its irregular contours and rough, rounded surfaces to determine the arrangement of the three figures. This Mother and her children are, here, huddled together, their bodies scarcely distinguishable from one another. Shoulders merge into backs, small faces emerge from shallow hollows, and a few decisive cuts give form to limbs and features. There is a wonderful sense of closeness in this gathering of figures, as though the children have nestled themselves into the very substance of their mother.

The sculpture possesses the rugged, resistant character for which Nutaraaluk is best remembered, yet the subject lends its coarse surfaces and blunt forms a particular tenderness. Especially characteristic are the short, scratched hatch marks describing braids and hands, their fine, sharp incisions contrasting with the roughly worked stone.

FA