Elizabeth Nutaralukyear of death not known 1998, 1999, 2002???? Born in 1914 near Ennadai Lake in the Keewatin region of Nunavut, Elizabeth Nutaraluk and her family were greatly affected by starvation in the region surrounding Padlei during the early 1950s. Nutaraluk lost half of her thirteen children during the 1950s famines. She relocated to Aqviat in 1957 and began her artistic career in the 1960s. Informed by personal experience Nutaraluk's sculpture revolves around the continuing exploration of the mother and child theme. Her work is abstracted and minimal, typical of sculpture from the Keewatin region, but is also strongly emotional and autobiographical in nature.Nutaraluk began exhibiting her sculpture, on a national and international scale, in the early 1970s. She participated in the renowned travelling exhibition Sculpture/Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic that opened in Ottawa in 1971. The artist attended the opening of the exhibition in Philadelphia in 1973. Her sculpture is in the collection of the Eskimo Museum in Churchill, Manitoba; the Klamer Family Collection and the Sarick Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario; the Swinton and Twomey Collection at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba; the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario.Elizabeth Nutaraluk died in 1998. -----------The appreciation of this superficially primitive work should not blind the viewer to the evidence that it comes from a highly sophisticated sculptor. The file marks on the surface only enhance its beautifully modeled shapes. The lovely braid is an Elizabeth Nutaraluk trademark. Above all, the expressiveness of this piece is achieved in an extremely resourceful manner, with the faces of the mother and the child created with just a few skilled strokes of the file. The subtle turning of her body endows the mother with motion and energy. The asymmetry of the mother's face and head is also masterful.-----------------www.elcalondon.comCollections Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario  Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec  Eskimo Museum, Churchill, Manitoba  Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario  McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario  Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan  Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario  Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia  Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba References Adamson, Arthur  THE SWINTON COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. Inuit Art Quarterly, vol.3, no.1, Winter, 1988. pp.19-20. Blodgett, Jean  GRASP TIGHT THE OLD WAYS: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983. Blodgett, Jean  THE COMING AND GOING OF THE SHAMAN: Eskimo Shamanism and Art. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1979. Canada. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada  CANADIAN INUIT SCULPTURE = LA SCULPTURE INUIT CANADIENNE. Ottawa: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1988. Canadian Eskimo Arts Council  SCULPTURE/INUIT: Sculpture of the Inuit: masterworks of the Canadian Arctic = La sculpture chez les Inuit: chefs-d'oeuvre de l'Arctique canadien. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. London: Aidan Ellis Publishing, 1971. Dickie, Bonnie  RESURGENCE AT ESKIMO POINT: A Silence Ends. Up Here: Life in Canada's North 1 (6):20-23, 1985. Hessel, Ingo  ARTISTS FROM ENNADAI LAKE. Ottawa : Inuktitut 62:25-30, Winter, 1985. Hessel, Ingo  ARVIAT STONE SCULPTURE: Born of the Struggle with an Uncompromising Medium. Inuit Art Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 1, Winter, 1990. pp.4-15. Inuit Gallery of Vancouver  MASTERWORKS; SCULPTURE. Vancouver, B.C. : Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1986. Kalluak, Mark  PELTS TO STONE: A History of Arts & Crafts Production in Arviat. Ottawa: Inuit Art Section, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1993. Marion Scott Gallery  ARVIAT: Eskimo Point. Vancouver: Marion Scott Ltd, 1989. Marion Scott Gallery  THE TREASURED MONUMENT: An Exhibition of Small-scale Inuit Sculpture. Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1993. Steenhoven, Geert van den  ENNADAI LAKE PEOPLE 1955. The Beaver, Spring, 1968. pp.12-18. Swinton, George  SCULPTURE OF THE ESKIMO. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972. Wight, Darlene  BUILDING ON STRENGTHS: New Inuit Art from the Collection. Tableau, vol. 1, no.5, 1988. p.4. Winnipeg Art Gallery  ESKIMO POINT/ARVIAT. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1982.----------------Elizabeth Nutaraluk Aulatjut Biography(view artist artwork)Date of Birth/Date de naissance1914 (deceased/ dcdéé)Community/CommunautéArviatCollections Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario  Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec  Eskimo Museum, Churchill, Manitoba  Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario  McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario  Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan  Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario  Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia  Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba References Adamson, Arthur  THE SWINTON COLLECTION OF INUIT ART. Inuit Art Quarterly, vol.3, no.1, Winter, 1988. pp.19-20. Blodgett, Jean  GRASP TIGHT THE OLD WAYS: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 1983. Blodgett, Jean  THE COMING AND GOING OF THE SHAMAN: Eskimo Shamanism and Art. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1979. Canada. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada  CANADIAN INUIT SCULPTURE = LA SCULPTURE INUIT CANADIENNE. Ottawa: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1988. Canadian Eskimo Arts Council  SCULPTURE/INUIT: Sculpture of the Inuit: masterworks of the Canadian Arctic = La sculpture chez les Inuit: chefs-d'oeuvre de l'Arctique canadien. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. London: Aidan Ellis Publishing, 1971. Dickie, Bonnie  RESURGENCE AT ESKIMO POINT: A Silence Ends. Up Here: Life in Canada's North 1 (6):20-23, 1985. Hessel, Ingo  ARTISTS FROM ENNADAI LAKE. Ottawa : Inuktitut 62:25-30, Winter, 1985. Hessel, Ingo  ARVIAT STONE SCULPTURE: Born of the Struggle with an Uncompromising Medium. Inuit Art Quarterly, vol. 5, no. 1, Winter, 1990. pp.4-15. Inuit Gallery of Vancouver  MASTERWORKS; SCULPTURE. Vancouver, B.C. : Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, 1986. Kalluak, Mark  PELTS TO STONE: A History of Arts & Crafts Production in Arviat. Ottawa: Inuit Art Section, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 1993. Marion Scott Gallery  ARVIAT: Eskimo Point. Vancouver: Marion Scott Ltd, 1989. Marion Scott Gallery  THE TREASURED MONUMENT: An Exhibition of Small-scale Inuit Sculpture. Vancouver: Marion Scott Gallery, 1993. Steenhoven, Geert van den  ENNADAI LAKE PEOPLE 1955. The Beaver, Spring, 1968. pp.12-18. Swinton, George  SCULPTURE OF THE ESKIMO. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972. Wight, Darlene  BUILDING ON STRENGTHS: New Inuit Art from the Collection. Tableau, vol. 1, no.5, 1988. p.4. Winnipeg Art Gallery  ESKIMO POINT/ARVIAT. Winnipeg: The Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1982.-------------------inuit.comOne particular story is well worth relating. Several sculptures are from one individual who lived with her husband, daughter and little dog in the Arctic from 1970 to 1976. The husband was a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot and was stationed in Arviat, then known as Eskimo Point. Used to moving regularly, they took part in many community activities and quickly made friends. But it was the craft shop, then operated by Gabriel Gely, that our collector found herself visiting daily. There she learned from Gely about Inuit art but it was her personal esthetic sense that dictated her large collection. Because she was genuinely interested in the people and had such a terrific sense of humour, she became friends with many of the artists, in particular Elizabeth Nutaraluk Aulatjut. On one of her regular visits, Nutaraluk brought her infant grandchild with her. With the baby wrapped in her arms, she began singing and gently rocking the child back and forth. With her own daughter grown, our collector picked up her little dog and joined Nutaraluk rocking and singing to their 'babies'. Nutaraluk collapsed in laughter! That Christmas, Nutaraluk visited with a gift, a sculpture of a woman rocking her dog.It is sometimes with mixed emotions that collectors release their art works, but it is always reassuring to know that their works will find new homes with equally passionate collectors among our extended family of Inuit art lovers.Melanie ZavediukDirector and Curator----------------sculptor Mary is the daughter of Elizabeth Nutaraluk and the late Andy Aulatjut.

Exhibitions

• Annual Exhibition of Eskimo Sculptures and Prints, Lippel Gallery
• Arctic Forms - Inuit Sculpture, Arctic Inuit Art Gallery
• Arctic Images: Major Sculptures by Canada's Leading Contemporary Eskimo (Inuit) Artists, at D/Erlien Fine Art Limited presented by Orca Aart, Chicago
• Arctic Spirit 35 Years of Canadian Inuit Art, Frye Art Museum
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie Akenaton
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie Maite Aubert
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie Montador
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Chapelle de la Visitation
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie Ombre et Lumiere
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie La Tour des Cardinaux
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at La Halle aux Bles
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Palais de l'Europe
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Le Theatre
• Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Palais de l'Europe
• Art Inuit, l'Art des Esquimaux du Canada, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Maison Falleur, Cambrai
• Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Chapelle de la Visitation, Thonon
• Art Inuit, la Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Centre d'Action Culturelle du Bassin Houllier, Lorrain, Saint Avold
• Art Inuit, Sculpture des Esquimaux du Canada, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Galerie La Poutre, Marseille
• Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape Dorset 1990, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Centre Culturel Canadien
• Art Inuit: Autour de la Collection de Cape Dorset 1991, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Le Colombier
• Art of the Eskimo: Contemporary Sculpture & Drawings from the Canadian Arctic, Gallery 100 Hudson
• Arviat: Eskimo Point, Marion Scott Gallery
• Baffin Images, Orca Aart
• Beeldhouwkunst van de Inuit (Canada), by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai, France at Amphora Finippon pvba, Sint Andries, Brugge, Belgium
• Building on Strengths: New Inuit Art from the Collection, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Cold Stones, Warm Hearts: Inuit Art from the Northwest Territories, University of Richmond
• Eskimo Point/Arviat, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• Glaciopolis: Art Inuit, Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Maison de Pesey
• Grasp Tight the Old Ways: Selections from the Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
• Inspiration Four Decades of Sculpture, Marion Scott Gallery
• Inuit Art from the Canadian Arctic, Bayly Art Museum University of Virginia
• Inuit Masterworks, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Kanuitpit? Kunst und Kulturen der Eskimo: Eine Auswahl aus den Museumssammlungen, Staatliches Museum fur Volkerkunde Munchen
• Keewatin Sculpture: Reflections of the Spirit, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Kunst van de Inuit Eskimo's, Gemeentelijk Kunstcentrum Huis Hellemans
• Major/Minor, Marion Scott Gallery
• Masterwork Sculpture 1985, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Masterwork Sculpture 1986, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver
• Mother & Child, Marion Scott Gallery
• Mother and Child: Selections from the Inuit Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Art Gallery of Ontario
• Rugged and Profound - Sculpture from Eskimo Point, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• Sculpture/Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic, Canadian Eskimo Arts Council
• The Beat of the Drum, The Arctic Circle
• The Bond Between Mother and Child, The Arctic Circle
• The Circle is the Home, The Innuit Gallery of Eskimo Art
• The Collector's Eye Inuit Art from Private Collections, Albers Gallery
• The Coming and Going of the Shaman: Eskimo Shamanism and Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Stone Sculpture of Arviat, McMichael Canadian Art Collection
• The Swinton Collection of Inuit Art, Winnipeg Art Gallery
• The Treasured Monument, Marion Scott Gallery
• Three Women of Arviat: Sculpture by Elizabeth Nutaraluk, Lucy Tasseor and Joy Halluk, The Isaacs/Innuit Gallery
• Tundra & Ice: Stone Images of Animals and Man, presented by Orca Aart at the Adventurers' Club
• Women of the North: An Exhibition of art by Inuit Women of the Canadian Arctic, Marion Scott Gallery
• [Inuit Art Exhibition], Orca Aart, presented at Neiman Marcus
• [Inuit art], Galerie Saint Merri
• [L'art inuit], Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at Palais de l'Europe, le Touquet
• [L'art inuit], Presented by l'Iglou Art Esquimau, Douai at St. Marcellin

Collections

• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull
• Eskimo Museum, Churchill
• Klamer Family Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg
• Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon
• Sarick Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
• Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver
• Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg