ATTRIBUTED TO OSUITOK IPEELEE, R.C.A. (1922 or 1923-2005) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Sea Goddess, c. 1960
walrus tusk, 2.5 x 8.75 x 2 in (6.3 x 22.2 x 5.1 cm)
unsigned.

Provenance
Marion Scott Gallery, Vancouver;
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto.

Osuitok began to carve walrus tusks as a pastime already as a boy. He had learned by watching his father carve; sadly, his father was killed by a shaman in 1935. Osuitok continued to carve and was selling walrus tusk works by the early 1940s, but virtually no walrus tusk works have been definitively attributed to the artist. This stunning walrus tusk Sea Goddess was labelled as having been carved by “Oshaweetok B” – the name once used to distinguish Osuitok from another Cape Dorset artist of the same name, Peesee Osuitok (“Oshaweetok A”). With so few comparable works in walrus tusk available it is difficult to be certain that the work is by Osuitok Ipeelee, but if we judge by the carving’s artistry and workmanship the case is very strong. Sea Goddess is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful depictions of Sedna we have had the pleasure to enjoy in any medium. Flawlessly executed, graceful, and winsome, this walrus tusk rendition achieves a “classic” elegance.Osuitok’s depictions of the Inuit sea goddess are relatively few, which is surprising given that the artist was an unashamed admirer of the female form. However, there are two later and larger stone examples by Osuitok that are quite similar: a version in light green stone that graced the cover of Alma Houston’s 1988 book, Inuit Art: An Anthology, and a dark green version offered in the First Arts November 2021 catalogue (Lot 37). Both works date from c. 1983, and could be considered reprises of this sensational walrus tusk beauty.

References: For discussion of the Inuit sea goddess, see Nelda Swinton, The Inuit Sea Goddess (La Déesse Inuite De La Mer), (Montreal: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1980). For a discussion of the artist’s work see Jean Blodgett, “Osuitok Ipeelee” in Alma Houston ed., Inuit Art: An Anthology, (Winnipeg: Watson and Dwyer Publishing, 1988), pp. 42-55.