Additional Images

Provenance:

Collection of Bonnie Hay Robertson, acquired directly from the artist, Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), ca. 1970

Note:

Thirteen snapshot photographs documenting Inuit elders, artists, and life in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), including the circa 1970s visit of then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Mary McCulloch, Baker Lake N.W.T. 1870-1970 (Baker Lake: Baker Lake Residents’ Association, 1971).

William Kirby, Baker Lake Prints (Ottawa: Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, 1970).

Print by Helen Kalvak in folio titled Centennial Year of the Northwest Territories , 1970.

Paulosie Sivuak, et al., Povungnituk (Lévis: Centre D’Art Esquimau, 1968).

W.T. Larmour, Inunnit: The Art of the Canadian Eskimo (Ottawa: Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, 1970).

Lots 15 to 30 in the present auction come from the collection of Bonnie Hay Robertson (1946-2023), acquired while she was stationed as a nurse in Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake), circa 1970.

A desire to support friends and close acquaintances in the community led Robertson to purchase artworks directly from local makers. A small, but focused collection, the works which she acquired are a snapshot of artistic production in one of Qamani’tuaq’s most important periods, and include contributions by George Tataniq, Vital Makpaaq, David Ikutaaq, Yvonne Kanayuq Arnakyuinak, Peter Sevoga, Barnabus Arnasungaaq, Luke Iksiktaaryuk, and Tuna Iquliq.