Lot 111
MIRIAM NANURLUQ QIYUK (1933-2016) QAMANI'TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)
Family Group, 1979

stone, 6 x 11.75 x 2.5 in (15.2 x 29.8 x 6.3 cm)
signed and dated, "ᒣᕆᐊᒻ QIYUK / JUNE 79".

Provenance
Private Collection, Toronto.

Depiction of families is a frequent subject in the work of Miriam Qiyuk, but it is not always easy to distinguish individual members, especially in some of the larger gatherings (see for instance First Arts Auctions, December 2020, Lot 30). In this sculpture the scale of the figures indicates that the three children are flanked by the tall figure of the father on their left, and their kneeling mother in her amautiq with her arms around the smallest child. Each face is individual but all seem to happily share this moment together. The repeated circular motif of the arms and clasped hands across the front of the figures is truly charming. It unifies the figures visually, thus enhancing the sculptural quality of the scene as well as underlining the close family bond. Instead of a “family reunion” scene, here we have an intimate and endearing portrait of a nuclear family.

References

For similar examples by the artist see Darlene Coward Wight, Creation and Transformation: Defining Moments in Inuit Art (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2012), cat. 90; Bernadette Driscoll, The Inuit Amautik: I Like My Hood To Be Full (Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1980), pp. 86-87; Canadian Arctic Art Museum Ltd., Arctic Art Masterworks: Selections from the Balshine Collection of Sculpture by Inuit (Vancouver: 1998). See also First Arts Auctions, December 2020, Lot 30; Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, May 2014, Lot 44; Nov. 2015, Lot 54.