ELIZABETH NUTARAALUK AULATJUT (1914-1998) ARVIAT (ESKIMO POINT)
Kneeling Woman, late 1980s
stone, 6 x 7 x 5.5 in (15.2 x 17.8 x 14 cm)
signed, "ᓄᑕᒐᓗ".

ESTIMATE: $1,800 — $2,800

Provenance
Private Collection, USA.

As recognizable as her earlier works are for their strength in pose, emotional content, and distinctive carved features, Elizabeth Nutaraaluk’s later works are known for their simpler, blocky forms and brutalism. For a late sculpture, Kneeling Woman is a surprisingly charming study in planes and angles, almost cubist in style. With its degree of geometric minimalism, it might almost be mistaken for a work by John Pangnark. But the stark facial features show Nutaraaluk’s hand, and her trademark pair of hatch-mark braids running along the woman’s back leave no doubt as to this sculpture’s authorship.



References: For other late-career works by the artist, see First Arts, Toronto, 5 December 2022, Lot 128, and First Arts, Toronto, 14 June 2022, Lot 2. See Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre / New York: Harry Abrams / London: British Museum Press, 1998), fig. 104. For another depiction of a kneeling woman, see Kneeling Woman and Bird in Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, 22 November 2017, Lot 6.