Osuitok Ipeelee: Striding Caribou

November 19, 2024 By: Palmer Jarvis

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Lot 25 – Osuitok Ipeelee ᐅᓱᐃᑐ ᐃᐱᓕ, RCA (1923-2005), Kinngait (Cape Dorset)
STRIDING CARIBOU, CA. 1988
stone, antler, signed in syllabics
Estimate: $10,000—15,000

If the aesthetic temperament of John Pangnark was perfectly suited to the hard unyielding stone of Arviat, then so too was Osuitok’s to the delicate but highly workable stone of Kinngait.
Material quarried at Kinngait encouraged fine detail, and in the hands of a master allowed for playful use of its variegation in colour. In the present work, one of three variations on the subject in the present auction, Osuitok has oriented the caribou with exacting skill in the stone to capture the wetted nose and mouth of the animal with a vein of contrasting light green stone.
Through the 1950s and later, Osuitok was his community’s “keeper of the carving stone,” leading the expeditions to quarry materials in the summer months when the ground had thawed sufficiently. In guiding other artists when selecting stone, he came to understand the way the material fractures and breaks. That intimate knowledge of the stone assisted him in his ability to carve his caribou with finesse and equilibrium.
Of his process Osuitok explained: “When I’m doing a caribou, I first make the outline of the animal starting with the muzzle, the nose, and then I work my way down to the body. Then I work on the leg areas. The standing caribou are more difficult than the kneeling ones. I work with files when I am doing the legs and ears. The ears are the last thing I do because they tend to break off. So I finish with those. I don’t use the grinder to make the form because sometimes there are areas that you tend to cut into too deeply, something you’re not supposed to do. I prefer to use an axe and a saw. Also I use files that you use for steel (rasps) and then I switch to files for the finer work.
For balancing I make sure the base is smooth and flat so that the caribou doesn’t tip to the front or side. I just make sure that the bottom of the hooves is perfectly level. I use a level like carpenters use in construction work. I make sure the base is a little bit thick before I start to get it level.”[1]
[1] Susan Gustavison, Northern Rock Contemporary Inuit Stone Sculpture (Kleinburg: McMichael Canadian Art Collection, 1999), 64.
About the Auction
Striding Caribou is offered in our November Inuit Art auction online until November 28.
Also featured is Manno’s iconic 1964 sculpture “Bear on Ice”, offered for the first time since 1978, as well as notable sculpture and graphics by Pauta Saila, Kenojuak Ashevak, Parr, Luke Anguhadluq, David Ruben Piqtoukun, Davie Atchealak, John Pangnark, Ruth Qaulluaryuk, Manasie Akpaliapik, Nick Sikkuark, Napachie Pootoogook, Joe Kiloonik, Oviloo Tunnillie, Jessie Oonark, Bill Nasogaluak, Sheouak Petaulassie, Joe Talirunili, and others. Also see additional examples of Osuitok’s iconic caribou – lot 77 and lot 80.
PUBLIC PREVIEWS

Previews will be available at our new Toronto gallery, located at 100 Broadview Avenue, just south of Queen Street East.

Saturday, November 23 from 12 pm to 4 pm
Sunday, November 24 from 12 pm to 4 pm
Monday, November 25 from 10 am to 5 pm
Tuesday, November 26 from 10 am to 5 pm
Or by appointment.
Please contact us for more information.