MARY QAYUARYUK (KUDJUAKJUK) (1908-1982) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Owl, c. mid 1960s
stone, 7 x 4.5 x 6 in (17.8 x 11.4 x 15.2 cm)
unsigned

ESTIMATE: $1,000 — $1,500

Provenance
An Ottawa Collection.

Mary Qayuaryuk (Kudjuakjuk) made a name for herself as a respected midwife while also creating art, both as a sculptor and a designer of prints. Animals were the regular focus of her work, and birds in particular became her favourite subject matter. This adorable Owl, subtly plump with short legs, peers at the world with large eyes. Its facial features may have been influenced by the work of her contemporary Latcholassie Akesuk (see Lot 80), but its charm is of Qayuaryuk’s making alone. In her own words, she commented: "I always find it very hard to think of what I'm going to draw. It is easier when I'm just chopping a stone because what I'm going to make is already there – I just chop the pieces off.” [1]

1. The artist quoted in Dorset 78: Cape Dorset Annual Graphics Collection 1978 (M.F. Feheley Publishers: Toronto, 1978) p. 56.

References: For sculptures of owls by the artist see Winnipeg Art Gallery, Cape Dorset: Selected Sculptures from the Collections of the Winnipeg Art Gallery (Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1975), cats. 29 and 44. See also Walker’s Auctions, 16 May 2018, Lot 188.