LATCHOLASSIE AKESUK (1919-2000) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Owl, early-mid 1970s
stone, 10.75 x 18.25 x 5.5 in (27.3 x 46.4 x 14 cm)
unsigned.

Provenance
Private Collection, Santa Fe, NM.

Like his father Tudlik, the famous sculptor and graphic artist, Latcholassie’s favourite subjects were birds, especially owls. As Jean Blodgett writes in the 1986 Robertson Collection catalogue, “On the one hand Latcholassie tends to concentrate on the basic shape and configuration of his form, doing little detail work or surface decoration… On the other hand, even within these restrictions, Latcholassie’s presentation of his bird subjects is richly varied. By changes in such things as size, proportion, position, and attributes, he imbues his bird subjects with individuality and character” [1]. With its anthropomorphic features, this Owl is a quintessential example of Latcholassie’s style. The bird’s lack of symmetry is likely intentional; this endearing sculpture probably depicts a teetering fledgling owl, or perhaps an elderly one. It reminds us of Tudlik’s charming Owl (see Lot 11).

1. Blodgett, Selections from The John and Mary Robertson Collection of Inuit Sculpture, 1986, p. 35.

References: For similar works see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1972), fig. 84, p. 60; Canadian Eskimo Arts Council, Sculpture / Inuit, Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), fig. 193, 334.