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Provenance:

Private collection, London, UK

Note:

We are pleased to present two works by Akeeaktashuk in this auction, lots 101 and 102.

Perhaps one of the best known and most iconic Inuit sculptors of the early twentieth century, the work of the artist was much lauded during his own time. [1] The attention given to Akeeaktashuk’s work made him highly influential among fellow sculptors as well as among early collectors.

No works by Akeeaktashuk can be dated past 1953 when the artist and his family were relocated to Qikiqtaaluk (Craig Harbour) and later Aujuittuq (Grise Fiord) in a misguided government project that promised to improve living conditions through the increased availability of game. [2,3]

A supremely talented artist, whose extended family included Johnny Inukpuk, and the artist’s brother, the gifted Pilipusi Novalinga, Akeeaktashuk’s sculptures remain distinctly recognizable despite his influence among his contemporaries. [4] Characterised by an exceptional clarity of form and purity of vision, the present lots epitomise the artist’s talents.

Passed by descent through the family of the consignor, the present lot and lot 101 of this auction were acquired on the personal recommendation of the noted explorer, arctic archeologist, public servant, and author Graham Westbrook Rowley, CM, MBE. [5]

(1) Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955. (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006), 29.
(2) Wight, 29-30
(3) Samia Madwar, “Inuit High Arctic Relocations in Canada”, The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2020. Accessed April 22, 2022, Click here to read more
(4) Wight, 30.
(5) John MacDonald, “Graham Westbrook Rowley (1912-2003)”, Arctic Institute of America Journal: Arctic, 2004. vol. 57, no. 2, p. 223-224.


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