Inuit Art May2013-1959-CATALOGUE-PDF-2:1 - Waddington's

Lot 84
The Complete 1959
Cape Dorset Graphics Collection

Comprised of 39 Graphics

Est. $400,000/450,000

Inuit Art Auction Smart Phone and Tablet Version
of this Catalogue Available at:
Monday 6 May 2013 at 6pm www.waddingtons.ca/1959-Cape-Dorset-Graphics

View Place your bids online at:
Saturday 4 May from 11:00am - 4:00pm www.artfact.com
Sunday 5 May from 11:00am - 4:00pm
Monday 6 May from 10:00am - 12:00 Noon * The comments marked with an asterisk indicate they have been
reprinted from the original promotional catalogue for the Cape
Specialist Dorset 1959 Graphics release.
Christa Ouimet 416 847 6184 co@waddingtons.ca Additional images available at inuitart.waddingtons.ca
Condition reports available upon request.
Corporate Receptionist This auction is subject to the Conditions of Sale printed at the back
Kate Godin 416 504 9100 kg@waddingtons.ca of this catalogue.
No audio or video recording devices, including cameras, are
Absentee and Phone Bidding permitted in the auction hall
416 504 0033 (Fax) bids@waddingtons.ca
This catalogue and its contents © 2012 Waddington McLean & Company Ltd.
Accounts Manager All rights reserved. Photography by Waddingtons.ca.
Karen Sander 416 847 6173 ks@waddingtons.ca

Online Catalogue
inuitart.waddingtons.ca

Waddingtons.ca
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5A 1K2
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Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 1

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Forward

In the long history of creating art there have been spontaneous bursts of
genius that irreversibly changed the artistic landscape. These extraordinary
periods of creativity are sparked by the convergence of unique conditions
within a certain environment – the Renaissance, Impressionism and of course,
the Group of Seven. In Canada’s far north, the work of a group of unlikely
Inuit artists would ignite their own era of artistic genius.

This collection of 1959 Cape Dorset graphics is the result of a special people
who relied on their exquisite powers of observation, a profound knowledge
of their environment and an innate genius for crafting the tools and methods
they needed from the barren Arctic in order to survive. Given the simplest of
tools - paper and pencils, generations of pent-up creativity exploded onto
the paper with beautifully colourful, striking, and uniquely Inuit images.

Bringing together a group of people who had recently been nomadic hunters
and gatherers in the Arctic, a people who had never previously had the
technologies or tools to visually express their stories, beliefs and life
experiences, created an art form that opened a window into the wonder of
the Inuit people and their land.

The 1959 release of this first portfolio of Inuit prints sold out quickly creating
a sensation in the Canadian art market. It is responsible for launching an
important Canadian art movement based in drawing and print making which
subsequently spread throughout the Canadian Arctic and is now collected
around the world.

That this complete portfolio exists at all is due to the passion of the previous
collectors whose vision ensured this collection stayed together, ultimately to
be celebrated in Canada’s National Gallery in the important 2009 exhibition
– Uuturautiit: Cape Dorset Celebrates 50 Years of Printmaking.

This auction lot, which is to the best of our knowledge, the last complete
1959 Cape Dorset Graphics portfolio, represents an extraordinary moment in
modern Canadian art and presents an unprecedented acquisition opportunity
for a collector, company or institution. Each year Canada's major auction
houses offer the market hundreds of art works in vastly varying themes, by
a myriad of artists and at prices ranging from the affordable to the
stratospheric, but very few if any would truly qualify as being nationally
important as this pristine portfolio surely does.

Since conducting our first Inuit art auction in 1978, Inuit graphics have been
a key part of Waddington’s engagement with Canadian art. We greatly look
forward to presenting this collection in our spring Inuit art auction and invite
everyone to come and enjoy viewing it.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 3

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Inuit Prints Stratford, print editions were raised from 30 to 50 (which
An Introduction by Norman Vorano explains why a handful of the 1959 prints are editioned in 30
while most others are editioned in the standard 50). The
While the 1959 Cape Dorset collection may have been the Cape Dorset studio ramped up its production that autumn
first “official” annual release of prints, printmaking in the and the entire collection, some 39 images in total (plus 2
community began a few years earlier. In January of 1955, “rubbings”), was officially released to the public on a snowy
not yet living in Cape Dorset as the Area Administrator, Friday evening of February 26, 1960, at the Montreal
James Houston suggested to his superiors in the Museum of Fine Arts. It was, according to newspaper
Department of Northern Affairs of the possibility of sources, opened a week later in New York City and an
introducing “a graphic art native in concept as they have in exhibition followed in Toronto. The collection went on sale
Congo or Haiti,” as a means of enlarging the scope of crafts across Canada on March 1st.
produced in the north. After James and Alma moved to
Cape Dorset in 1956, they got to work immediately with This inaugural Cape Dorset print collection was a fully-
Osuitok Ipeelee and Kananginak Pootoogook to make block realized, bold, and original aesthetic statement that
prints on fabric. Examples of these were shown to the resonated with audiences as a modern artistic form. It
Canadian Handicrafts Guild later that summer as Houston included the first print by the doyenne of Inuit art, the late
discussed with Alice Lighthall and Jack Molson, both of the Kenojuak Ashevak, along with the late Osuitok Ipeelee’s only
Guild, his plan to “teach twelve Eskimos to make stone designs (the latter became a prominent sculptor). In a pre-
blocks for use in hand blocking yard goods,” with designs opening interview with the Montreal Gazette, Donald
“native in character.” Over the next year, the two Cape Snowden, Chief of the Industrial Division for Northern
Dorset printmakers migrated from yard to paper, and began Affairs, called the Cape Dorset designs “beatnik” in style—
creating gift cards, wrapping paper and likely other paper a nod to their hip appeal for sophisticated, young collectors.
crafts using a rudimentary method of hand block The appeal was widespread. Interest poured in from across
printmaking. Canada and the United States, and later in 1960, the
Department of External Affairs added this collection of
By November of 1957, the printmakers Osuitok, Kananginak prints to an ongoing traveling exhibition of Inuit sculpture,
and Joanasie Salomonie had shifted from printed crafts to then-touring across Eastern Europe. The success of this first
easel-style fine-art prints. Their attempt to make a multi- collection generated roughly $20,000 for the newly formed
block relief print resulted in Houston taking a three month West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative, and gave the studio the
trip to Japan beginning in October of 1958 to study with a economic means to hire its first outside “arts advisor”—a
variety of Japanese printmakers, chief among which was young artist from Toronto by the name of Terry Ryan. The
Un’ichi Hiratsuka. artistic strength of this collection, along with savvy
marketing and strong institutional support, sparked an
Houston returned to Cape Dorset in the spring of 1959 and artistic flame that continues to burn strongly today.
the studio—now including Eegyvudluk Pootoogook, Iyola
Kingwatsiak and Lukta Qiatsuq—bristled with activity and a i See: Norman Vorano, “Introduction: Early Printmaking in the Canadian Arctic,” in Inuit
clearer sense of purpose. Some of the prints created Prints, Japanese Inspiration: Early Printmaking in the Canadian Arctic, Gatineau, QC:
between April and June of 1959 were exhibited at the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, 2011: 1-12.
Stratford Festival, alongside a variety of crafts and many of ii Arch Mackenzie, “Eskimo Art Sales Boom,” Montreal Gazette, Thursday, February 18,
the previous “experimental” prints created before 1958. At 1960. P.4
some point after the test-marketing that summer in

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 5

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Lot 84
The Complete 1959
Cape Dorset Graphics Collection

Comprised of 39 Graphics
Est. $400,000/450,000

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 7

KENOJUAK ASHEVAK (1927-2013), E7-1035, Cape Dorset
RABBIT EATING SEAWEED, sealskin stencil, 1959, No. 8, 20/30, framed,
8” x 22” — 20.3 x 55.8 cm.
“Rabbit Eating Seaweed was the only print by Kenojuak Ashevak included
in the 1959 collection and it immediately positioned her as one of the most
innovative of these artists ... In this, her first print image, Kenojuak’s
distinct and definitive style was already evident.”
Patricia Feheley, printed in Cape Dorset Prints, A Retrospective, Fifty Years
of Printmaking at the Kinngait Studios, Leslie Boyd, 2007 pg 79

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SHEKOALOAK (1940-1959), Cape Dorset
YOUNG WOMAN, stonecut, 1959, No. 32, 14/50, framed,
24” x 12” — 60.9 x 30.4 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 9

TUDLIK (1890-1966), E7-1050, Cape Dorset
BIRD DREAM FOREWARNING BLIZZARDS, stonecut, 1959, No. 16, 22/30,
framed, 24” x 18” — 60.9 x 45.7 cm.

* The Eskimos believe that dreams are a sign of future happenings and when they

see birds in their dreams it means that blizzards are coming soon.

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TUDLIK (1890-1966), E7-1050, Cape Dorset
DIVISION OF MEAT, stonecut, 1959, No. 24, 21/50, framed, 12” x 9” — 30.4 x 22.8 cm.

* The Eskimos have a very complicated system for cutting up seals depending on the number of

people hunting, their ages, their status, their experience and their sex. Certain parts of the seal
are allotted to each person on the hunt, and this print shows the traditional division of the seal
when cutting it up.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 11

TUDLIK (1890-1966), E7-1050, Cape Dorset
EXCITED MAN FORGETS HIS WEAPONS, stonecut, 1959, No. 25, 14/50, framed,
12” x 18” — 30.4 x 45.7 cm.

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TUDLIK (1890-1966), E7-1050, Cape Dorset
SEAL THOUGHTS OF MAN, stonecut, 1959, No. 27, 14/50, framed,
24” x 7.9” — 60.9 x 20. cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 13

OSUITOK IPEELEE (1923-2005), E7-1154, Cape Dorset
FOUR MUSKOXEN, skin stencil, 1959, No. 18, 9/30, framed,
12” x 24” — 30.5 x 60.9 cm.

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OSUITOK IPEELEE (1923-2005), E7-1154, Cape Dorset
ESKIMO LEGEND: OWL, FOX AND HARE, skin stencil, 1959, No. 21, 21/30,
framed, 24” x 18” — 60.9 x 45.7 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 15

KELLYPALIK MANGITAK (1940-), E7-999, Cape Dorset
ARCTIC GULL, skin stencil, 1959, No. 13, 15/30, framed,
18” x 12” — 45.7 x 30.5 cm.

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KELLYPALIK MANGITAK (1940-), E7-999, Cape Dorset
MAN CARRIED TO THE MOON, stonecut, 1959, No. 21, 14/30, framed,
24” x 18” — 60.9 x 45.7 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 17

KELLYPALIK MANGITAK (1940-), E7-999, Cape Dorset
THOUGHTS OF BIRDS, stonecut, 1959, No. 22, 20/50, framed,
24” x 18” — 60.9 x 45.7 cm.

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KELLYPALIK MANGITAK (1940-), E7-999, Cape Dorset
BLUE GEESE ON SNOW, skin stencil, 1959, No. 26, 20/30,
framed, 10.5” x 7.5” — 26.6 x 19 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 19

KELLYPALIK MANGITAK (1940-), E7-999, Cape Dorset
CANADA GEESE, stonecut, 1959, No. 29, 14/50, framed,
22” x 26” — 55.8 x 66 cm.

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IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000), E7-914, Cape Dorset
ARCTIC ROCK COD, skin stencil, 1959, No. 15, 20/30,
framed, 17” x 24” — 43.1 x 60.9 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 21

IYOLA KINGWATSIAK (1933-2000), E7-914, Cape Dorset
SNOWY OWLS AND EGG, stonecut, 1959, No. 19, 15/30,
framed, 18” x 6” — 45.7 x 15.2 cm.

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NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
SNOWHOUSE BUILDERS, stonecut, May 1959, No, 6, 14/30, framed,
12” x 12” — 30.5 x 30.5 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 23

KUNU (1923-1966), E7-1078, Cape Dorset
GIRL WITH SKIN LINE, stonecut, 1959, No. 28, 14/30, framed,
12” x 9” — 30.4 x 22.8 cm.

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NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
ESKIMO SUMMER TENT, skin stencil, 1959, No. 1, 14/30, framed,
13” x 12” — 33 x 30.5 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 25

NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
HUNTER WITH BEAR, skin stencil, 1959, No. 2,
20/30, framed, 15” x 11.5” — 38.1 x 29.2 cm.

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NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
BEAR HUNTER ON SEA ICE, stonecut, May 1959, No. 7, 20/30,
framed, 12” x 18” — 30.5 x 45.7 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 27

NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
MAN HUNTING AT SEAL HOLE (IN ICE), skin stencil, May 1959, No. 11, 21/30, framed,
21” x 15” — 53.3 x 38.1 cm.

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NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
POLAR BEAR AND CUB IN ICE, skin stencil, June 1959, No. 12, 14/30, framed,
10.5” x 20” — 26.6 x 50.8 cm.
“The printmakers have used negative shape as an elegant solution to solve the
formal difficulty of depicting the white forms, a polar bear mother and cub as
well as the floe’s edge, on the white ground.”
Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration, Early Printmaking in the Canadian Arctic,
Norman Vorano, Canadian Museum of Civilization, page 82, catalogue 24

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 29

NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
ESKIMOS FISHING THROUGH ICE, skin stencil, 1959, No. 17, 20/30, framed,
18” x 15” — 45.7 x 38.1 cm.

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NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
ARCTIC GULLS, skin stencil, June 1959, No. 22, 20/30,
framed, 8” x 22” — 20.3 x 55.8 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 31

NIVIAXIE (1908-1959), E7-1077, Cape Dorset
CARIBOU, WINTER LIGHT, skin stencil, 1959, No. 25, 20/30, framed,
6.5” x 11” — 16.5 x 27.9 cm.

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KANANGINAK POOTOOGOOK (1935-2010), E7-1168, Cape Dorset
THREE NARWHALS, skin stencil, 1959, No. 9, 14/30, framed, 18” x 24” — 45.7 x
60.9 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 33

KANANGINAK POOTOOGOOK (1935-2010), E7-1168, Cape Dorset
TWO SEA PIGEONS, skin stencil, 1959, No. 10, 21/30, framed, 18” x 20”
— 45.7 x 50.8 cm.

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JOSEPHIE POOTOOGOOK (1887-1958), E7-1166, Cape Dorset
LEGEND OF THE BLIND MAN, skin stencil, January 1957, April 1959, No. 5, 15/30, framed,
15” x 24” — 38.1 x 60.9 cm.

* A long time ago during the time of starvation a blind man was living in a snow house with

his wicked wife. One day a bear came along and partially destroyed the wall of the igloo.
The blind man’s wife was very excited and said to him “Kill that bear.” He replied, “But I am
blind.” She said to him “I will give you the bow and arrow and will tell you where to shoot at
the bear.” She gave him the bow and arrow, directed him and he shot at the bear. The arrow
went into the bear’s mouth. The bear ran away and died near the snow house. The blind
man asked his wife if he had hit the bear but she said no because she wanted the bear meat
for herself. Each day this wicked woman used to go out to eat from the dead bear while her
husband starved. The bear spirits like good hunters so they came and killed the blind
man’s wicked wife and showed the blind man where the remains of the bear were so that
he himself could eat and live.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 35

JOSEPHIE POOTOOGOOK (1887-1958), E7-1166, Cape Dorset
WOMAN WITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, stonecut, 1959, No. 3, 20/50,
framed, 18” x 24” — 45.7 x 60.9 cm.

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JOSEPHIE POOTOOGOOK (1887-1958), E7-1166, Cape Dorset
WITH THE RAVEN COMES THE FISH, stonecut, 1959, No. 26, 14/50, framed,
18” x 12” — 45.7 x 30.4 cm.

* The Eskimos say that with the raven comes the fish. When the raven passes

overhead, the fisherman should look into the water because the fish will be
passing underneath at the same time.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 37

JOSEPHIE POOTOOGOOK (1887-1958), E7-1166, Cape Dorset
JOYFULLY I SEE TEN CARIBOU, stonecut, 1959, No. 29, 14/50,
framed, 12” x 18” — 30.4 x 45.7 cm.
“A hunter from the inland ... signals to his hunting companions, using
his fingers to indicate the number of caribou he has seen.
Pootagook died in 1959, a wise and powerful leader among the
Kingnaimuit. His early offer of splendid drawings gave prestige to the
whole idea of printmaking and caused many others to contribute their
work. Pootagook was a most respected and enterprising man. He
believed in the skills of man’s hand, organization and hard work. He
would have been highly successful in almost any kind of society in this
world.”
Eskimo Prints, James Houston, page 32

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JOSEPHIE POOTOOGOOK (1887-1958), E7-1166, Cape Dorset
IGLOO BUILDER, stonecut, 1959, No. 30, 21/50, framed, 24” x 12”
— 60.9 x 30.4 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 39

JOSEPHIE POOTOOGOOK (1887-1958), E7-1166, Cape Dorset
HUNTER, stonecut, 1959, No. 31, 14/50, framed, 18” x 12” — 45.7 x 30.4 cm.

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LUKTA QIATSUK (1928-2004), E7-1060, Cape Dorset
ARCTIC SHORE BIRDS, skin stencil, 1959, No. 3, 15/30, framed,
18” x 15” — 45.7 x 38.1 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 41

LUKTA QIATSUK (1928-2004), E7-1060, Cape Dorset
OWL, stonecut, 1959, No. 4, 21/30, framed, 12” x 18” —
30.5 x 45.7 cm.

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LUKTA QIATSUK (1928-2004), E7-1060, Cape Dorset
MOTHER AND CHILD, stonecut, 1959, No. 14, 20/30, framed,
8.4” x 5.3” — 21.4 x 13.5 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 43

LUKTA QIATSUK (1928-2004), E7-1060, Cape Dorset
ESKIMO WHALE HUNT, stonecut, 1959, No. 20, 15/30,
framed, 15” x 12” — 38.1 x 30.5 cm.

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LUKTA QIATSUK (1928-2004), E7-1060, Cape Dorset
CANADA GEESE ON NESTING GROUND, skin stencil,
1959, No. 24, 14/30, framed, 6.5” x 11” — 16.5 x 27.9 cm.

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 45

LUKTA QIATSUK (1928-2004), E7-1060, Cape Dorset
TALLULIYUK (SEA GODDESS), stonecut, 1959, No. 33, 20/30, framed, 18” x 12” —
45.7 x 30.4 cm.

* Talluliyuk appears to kayak hunters. She waves her arms and causes bad fortune

in hunting if she is seen but to catch her is good fortune. Using a magical word the
Eskimos can make Talluliyuk come to them and when she approaches, they throw
their harpoons at her. But Talluliyuk is so quick no one has ever caught her.

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Original 1959 Catalogue

On a small island off the coast of Southeast Baffin Island is the tiny
community of Cape Dorset. Here live ten Eskimo families, the
Department of Northern Affairs Area Administrator and his family,
a Hudson's Bay Company Post Manager and his wife, a
Department of Health and Welfare nurse and his family, and the
Department of Northern Affairs Teacher. Within a few hundred
miles of this settlement lives 53 other Eskimo families who visit
Cape Dorset to trade Arctic fox skins and sealskin at the Post,
collect their family allowances and old age pension, and buy flour,
tea, sugar and other necessities.

Although Cape Dorset is dwarfed to even the smallest of cities, it
is a giant in the world of art. Here some of the finest Eskimo stone
and ivory carvings are produced. Each one is carefully hand-carved
and no two are ever the same. The newly developed Eskimo
Graphic Art form originated here is produced in no other area of
the world.

In the field of crafts, Cape Dorset has few rivals. Beautiful Eskimo
parkas are made by the Eskimo women the outstanding quality
and design of these garments is a product of a tradition more than
one thousand years old.

The men too produce superb crafts such as full-scale and model
harpoons, spears and other artifacts, which are an integral part of
their traditional existence.

The Dorset people are experimenting with polishing semi-precious
stones found near the settlement. They are also exploring the field
of printing on textiles, and to introduce the "southerner" to the
beauty and adventure of the Arctic they have established a sport
hunting and fishing camp near the community. The Cape Dorset
Eskimos have worked the west Baffin Eskimo Co-operative to
ensure the efficient operation of this camp. Here visitors, whether
men or women, can learn first-hand the thrill of seal hunting as the
Eskimos know it, test their fishing skills battling the powerful Arctic
char, and collect magnificent Eskimo arts and crafts.

The Industrial Division
Department of Northern Affairs
150 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada

Inuit Art Auction - Monday 6 May 2013 at 6 pm 47

Biographies of Eskimo Graphic Artists

Niviaksiak - d. 1959 at 39 years old, married Kunu (d?), Early this winter, Niviaksiak was with a hunting party about 40
five children. miles north of Cape Dorset. Returning one day to the place where
Niviaksiak was an excellent carver. He was also known by the they had left the canoe, the Eskimos found it smashed; fresh bear
Eskimos as a man who deeply pondered many matters. Every tracks lead off into the snow. Niviaksiak and another hunter set off
spring, he took only his harpoon and went alone to a little island after the marauder, tracked it down for a few hours later. Oddly
where he lived simply for about two weeks, just thinking about enough, the bear did not run as Niviaksiak advanced, rifle in hand;
life in general. The food that he ate was that which he could kill instead, it stood still, watching. As Niviaksiak aimed, he suddenly
with his harpoon. cried out: "It's dark. I'm falling.” Then he dropped into the snow
without firing and died.
Time Magazine - February 8, 1960
The North His companion fled, but next day returned with the others. What
Hunter v. Spirit they said they found was odder than the bear itself: the frozen
body of Niviaksiak was unmauled; the bear tracks ended
The white loneliness of Baffin Island oppresses the white man, but mysteriously on the spot where the bear had faced the hunter.
to the Eskimo, the craggy, snow-covered wilderness is a veritable Suspicious kadlunas, when they heard the story, guessed that
city of companions seen and unseen. Where his brother kadluna Niviaksiak might have had a stroke or that the others were
(white man) spies only a distant blur, the Eskimo's keen hunting covering up for some mishap. But to Eskimos of Cape Dorset there
eye will pick out a polar bear basking on a far-off drift, a seal or was only one explanation, now firmly entrenched in the legends of
walrus on a floe, a caribou, a lemming, an owl or a raven. Where Baffin Island: Niviaksiak offended the polar bear spirit by his
a kadluna sees only landscape, the Eskimo will mark the invisible uncannily analytical carvings, and the vengeful spirit killed him
spur of some powerful northern spirit – perhaps of a monster from with a glance and vaporized.
an icy crevasse, or one of the gods who creates the dazzling
northern lights by playing catch in Paradise with seal skulls. Kunu – Born 1923 – Wife of Niviaksiak – 5 Children
Kunu is now in hospital for the second time. She has had no
Few men wondered more deeply about such spirits than a 39- schooling.
year-old Cape Dorset Eskimo named Niviaksiak (meaning, for no
clear reason, "beautiful daughter"). Niviaksiak was more than a Luktak – Born 1928 – Married with one child
hunter; he was a great artist as well, who added to a meager Luktak is probably the shyest of all the Eskimos in Cape Dorset. He
trapping income trading his vivid soapstone carvings – many now is very skillful in using the knife in his art work. He is also a carver
collectors items in Montréal and Toronto galleries – at the who has spent all his life in Dorset and who has had no schooling.
Hudson's Bay Co. store. Last year Niviaksiak seemed to become He helped to make the Mace of the N.W.T.
obsessed with the polar bear, a mysterious creature with as many
moods as a man has. For six months, Niviaksiak carved nothing Tudlik – 72 years old
else, probing with his fine primitive art at the spirit of the shaggy Tudlik’s wife and one son is dead and he has one living daughter.
beast. Some Eskimos thought he was searching deeper than a man He is almost blind and is now at Moose Factory Hospital, his first
should into the mysteries of life. time in southern Canada. He is due to return to Cape Dorset in the
spring of 1960. Tudlik’s carvings are now on display in most of the

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