Francis Kaluraq

Francis Kaluraq ᑲᓗᕋ (1931-1990), Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) FIGURE WITH FOUR FACES, CA. 1965 stone , signed in syllabics 8.75 x 4.5 x 2.5 in — 22.2 x 11.4 x 6.4 cm Provenance: Walker's Auctioneers, Ottawa, ON, 13 Nov 2011, lot 109 Private Estate, Ontario Note: Relatively little information is readily available about the important early Qamani’tuaq (Baker Lake) artist Francis Kaluraq. His early works in sculptures are impressive in their distinctly recognisable and monumental style. George Swinton evidently appreciated Kaluraq’s work and included sculpture by the artist both in Eskimo Sculpture in 1965, and in his 1972, and revised 1992 editions of Sculpture of the Eskimo. (1) Although active as a printer in the 1970s in Qamani’tuaq, very few sculptures by Kaluraq have come to market. The present work, Figure with Four Faces, likely dating to the mid-1960s, appears to be the only example of the four-faced subject in the artist’s apparently small oeuvre. In some regards stylistically evocative of the formalised style of fellow Qamani’tuaq artist George Tataniq, Figure with Four Faces predates Tataniq’s best known sculptural statements of the early 1970s. With its subtle abstraction, confidence of line, and enigmatic subject matter, it stands favourably against the important later works of Qamani’tuaq figuration. (1) George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1965), 93, 100; George Swinton, Sculpture of the Eskimo (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1972/1992), 222, pl. 684, 226, pl. 711. Related Works: James Houston, George Swinton and William E. Taylor Jr., Sculpture/Inuit (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971), unpaged, pl. 259. Canadian Museum of History. Cat. No. NA 1322. https://www.historymuseum.ca/collections/archive/3195180 Waddington’s Auctioneers, Toronto, ON, 23 Apr 2007, lot 130 Estimate: $10,000—15,000