SARAH IMADLAK TAYARAK (1917-1990) SALLUIT (SUGLUK)

Mother and Child,c. 1956

stone, 9.5 x 7.25 x 9.25 in (24.1 x 18.4 x 23.5 cm)

inscribed with artist's disc number, "E91196".

Provenance

Private Collection;

Inuit Art Gallery of Vancouver;

Albrecht Collection, Scottsdale, Arizona;

Walker's, 18 November 2015, Lot 28;Acquired from the above by the present European Private Collection.

In the mid 1950s Salluit (then Sugluk) was surpassed only by Cape Dorset in sculpture production. In 1955, out of a population of 110 over the age of ten, an astonishing 75 people were practicing artists [1]. Significantly, at least half of the important sculptors were women, making 1950s Salluit the most female-dominated chapter in the history of Inuit sculpture. We consider 1950s Salluit sculpture to be one of the great flowerings of Inuit art, and have always been sad that local and market circumstances allowed it to wither on the vine. We are therefore delighted to have been given the chance to offer two masterpieces by Salluit artists in this sale (see Lot 25).

Sadly, as is the case with so many Salluit artists, virtually nothing is known about Sarah Imadlak Tayarak; luckily, we do know of two works by her in public collections [2]. Imadlak’s Mother and Child is beautifully conceived and exquisitely rendered. The scene of a mother and her older child having a relaxing and affectionate moment is truly captivating. The scene reminds us of another superb Salluit sculpture, Mother and Child from 1955 by Thomassie Angutigirk (Walker’s Auctions, Nov. 2016, Lot 66). Interestingly, as in that work, the present sculpture seems to depict a boy in girl’s clothing; traditionally, some boys were raised as girls and vice versa, typically when they had been named after someone from the opposite gender. Mother and child look raptly upwards as if they were star-gazing. Lovely.

In sculptural terms Imadlak has carved the image with sensitivity and wonderful attention to detail. We love the treatment of the clothing - in particular the mother’s voluminous pleated skirt and the folds of her hood and pouch which seem to have a life of their own. Another delightful feature - one that is hidden from view - is that the mother’s lower legs are carved out beneath her skirt, a detail not uncommon in Salluit art. It reflects not just a style but also an attitude towards the making of art. Lovely again.

1. Art Gallery of Windsor, Sugluk: Sculpture in Stone 1953-1959, p. 12.

2. A similarly themed but more rustic work from 1954 in the Sarick Collection at the AGO is illustrated in Céline Saucier, Guardians of Memory (1998), fig. 103. Standing Woman Eating from 1956 in the Canadian Museum of History is closer in style to our example; see Maria von Finckenstein ed., Celebrating Inuit Art 1948-1970 (1999), p. 97, and Swinton (1972/92), fig. 409.

Literature: A similarly themed work from 1954 by this artist in the Sarick Collection at the AGO, is illustrated in Céline Saucier, Guardians of Memory: Sculpture-Women of Nunavik (L’instant-même, Québec, 1998), fig. 103. Standing Woman Eating (1956) in the Canadian Museum of History is closer in style to our Mother and Child (see Maria von Finckenstein ed., Celebrating Inuit Art 1948-1970, CMC, 1999, p. 97, and Swinton 1972/92, fig. 409).