Lot 273
John Tiktak ᔭᓐ ᑎᑕ, RCA (1916-1981)
Additional Images
Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist, ca. 1964
By decent to the present Private Collection, Florida, USA
Note:
An important and compositionally distinctive work by the artist, Seated Figure, circa 1964 exemplifies John Tiktak’s inventive incorporation of negative space in his compositions. Closely related to a smaller circa 1964 sculpture formerly in the collection of James and Alma Houston (lot 62 of Waddington’s May 2021 Inuit Art auction), the present work is further notable for its scale, the refinement of the facial characteristics, and upturned cast of the head.
Seated Figure was acquired circa 1964 by John Westerberg on a fishing trip to Haningayok (Black River), in present day Nunavut, and passed by descent to the present collection. The lot is accompanied by a facsimile copy of an eight-page article documenting the trip as published in the July 1964 issue of the American outdoor magazine Sports Afield.