Thomas Ugjuk

Thomas Ugjuk ᑕᒥ ᐅᔪ (b. 1921), Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet) MEN HAULING, CA. 1971 stone , signed in Roman; disc number inscribed; collector's inscription on underside reading "Bought at Rankin Inlet from Thomas Ugjuk 1974"; accompanied by original correspondence with Peter Millard detailing the acquisition of the above work, dated 1974 10 x 17.5 x 8.25 in — 25.4 x 44.5 x 21 cm Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist in Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet) by Peter Millard, Saskatchewan, 1974 Private Collection, Charlottesville, VA Exhibited: Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1994 Note: The son of the renowned Kangiqliniq (Rankin Inlet) artist John Kavik, Thomas Ugjuk’s sculptures were recognized early on for their importance. A closely related sculpture to Men Hauling can be found prominently on one of the opening pages of George Swinton’s Sculpture of the Eskimo, dated to 1970. The monumentality of Kavik’s style can be seen in Ugjuk’s blocky and muscular compositions, but so can a stilled movement and sense of tension that is unique to the sculpture of the son. Ugjuk worked for over ten years in the hard and sometimes dangerous environment of the nickel mine at Kangiqliniq before it closed in 1962. (1) He was never a prolific sculptor, but his small oeuvre is characterised by depictions of figures grouped together, often labouring in a seemingly shared task. This large and uncommon example of Ugjuk’s early work was collected in Kangiqliniq in 1974 by collector and staunch supporter of Inuit art Peter Millard, who is perhaps best known to enthusiasts of Kangiqliniq art for his writing in Inuit Art Quarterly. (2) (1) Maija M. Lutz, Hunters, Carvers, and Collectors: The Chauncey C. Nash Collection of Inuit Art (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012), 102. (2) Neale, Stacey. “The Rankin Inlet Ceramics Project: A Study in Development and Influence.” The National Library of Canada. March, 1997, 152. https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/mq26025.pdf Related Works: George Swinton, Sculpture of the Eskimo (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1972), 26. Estimate: $7,000—9,000