Additional Images

Provenance:

Jeffrey R. Myers Primitive Arts, New York City, NY, 10 Jan 1985
Collection of Dr. Norman Epstein, Toronto, ON

Note:

The Jeffrey R. Meyers invoice accompanying the present lot includes the following note:

1. A 17th century Eskimo ivory carving of a sailor, probably Russian, excavated at St. Lawrence Island, Alaska by Hogarth Kingeekook. This piece although earlier in age, is similar to a wooden effigy bust collected on St. Lawrence Island by Otto Geist and is pictured in an article by James Van Stone entitled “Carved Human Figures from St. Lawrence Island in the Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, Dec 1953.”

A description of the pictured piece is as follows: “Perhaps it represents an attempt on the part of the carver to carve representations of white sailors, for there is a tradition for such representations on St. Lawrence Island (Geist and Rainy, 1936 Pl. 32. 9-11).

2. A 16th - 17th century Eskimo ivory carving of a humanoid excavated at the old village site of Whales Alaska, by Hawthorne Ningeetook, this is an exceptionally finely conceived and executed effigy figure on a quality level unusual for mainland Thule culture pieces. For similar examples, see the “Inua” catalogue from the Smithsonian show of Nelson material. As you will see the quality of this piece far exceeds most pictured examples.

About the Collector

The present group is one of over fifty exceptional lots in this auction from the lifetime collection of dedicated collector and influential advocate of Inuit art, Dr. Norman Epstein.

Among the first generation of passionate Canadian collectors of Inuit sculpture, Dr. Epstein acquired his first artwork from the Canadian Guild of Crafts Shop in Montreal in 1956. He would go on to purchase important Inuit artwork guided by pioneering figures in the Canadian art scene including Avrom Isaacs, Harold Seidelman, and M.F. (Budd) Feheley. Dr. Epstein however remained true to his own sensibilities and personal preferences, building a varied collection around themes such as mothers and children, miniature ivories, and depictions of bears. Notably his collection was almost solely composed of sculpture, preferring the medium's “tactility” and “spiritual warmth” over Inuit graphics.

Exhibiting artworks at his offices for the enjoyment of his patients, Dr. Epstein also actively lent to several provincial and national exhibitions. Part of a firm conviction for Dr. Epstein about the cultural value of his chosen collecting field, he stated plainly in a 1990 interview with Inuit Art Quarterly, “Inuit art is a Canadian heritage”.

By the 1990s, Dr. Epstein was making fewer changes to his collection. While often shared with the public, the collection was also deeply personal for him, treasured through its many iterations over 60 years. Dr. Epstein notes of his sculptures at the close of the article, “I love them so much, which may be a sickness for which there is no cure”.