Lot 105
GEORGE TATANNIQ (1910-1991), QAMANI’TUAQ (BAKER LAKE)
Woman with Child in Her Amaut, early-mid 1970s
stone and antler, 7.25 x 3.75 x 3.25 in (18.4 x 9.5 x 8.3 cm)
signed, "ᑕᑕᓂ".

Provenance
Upstairs Gallery, Winnipeg, MB;
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto.

While the early years of Geroge Tatanniq’s carving career were focused on the animals of the north, the late sixties saw a move towards more human subjects. Woman with Child in Her Amaut is a subtly graceful example of his figural style, carved in a modest scale favoured by the artist. The curves and edges of the mother’s amaut are crisply rendered, as are the rustic yet delicate facial features. The ulu provides a lovely, visual balance to the beautifully shaped hood, which veers off in the opposite direction, seemingly blowing in the wind. The hood opening provides a snug oval frame for the two faces peering from it, protected against the elements around them.

References: For a similarly posed but slightly later example by the artist see Upstairs Gallery, Baker Lake Sculpture, (Winnipeg: Upstairs Gallery, 1989), cat. 22 (front cover). For a somewhat larger Standing Woman see First Arts, 1 December 2020, Lot 108, and another First Arts, Toronto, 28 May 2019, Lot 14. For a selection of great works see the section on the artist in Norman Zepp, Pure Vision: The Keewatin Spirit, (Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1986) pp. 120-129. For important human figures by Tatanniq see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (McClelland & Stewart, 1972/92) fig. 681; Gerald McMaster ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (AGO, 2010) pp. 130-131.