Lot #1: Large Stone Cut "An Inuit Family Fishing by Kayak" (1963) By Renowned Juanisialu Irqumia 1912-1977

http://art.avataq.qc.ca/artists/profile/juanisialuk-irqumia Juanisialu Irqumia 1912-1977 A participant in the fateful “migration” often depicted in fellow artist Joe Talirunili’s sculptures, Irqumia was one of 40 people once stranded on a melting ice floe. Many people drowned during the ordeal, including Irqumia’s sister Annie and her two children. The survivors were adrift at sea for several days before they reached land. Irqumia was said to have suffered from a rare affliction known as “kayak anxiety,” probably a form of agoraphobia that caused him to become disoriented in open spaces. He did not go out in a kayak in open water for fear of losing consciousness and drowning. Perhaps this anxiety also influenced his artistic practice; scholars noted that “he avoids an open plane by using the boundary of the stone or landscape to circumscribe his subjects. His prints always have more than one figure . . . all firmly anchored in defined space” (Mitchell 1975:13). Irqumia’s work has been exhibited at the international level in important venues in New York, Germany, and Sweden. His work has also been exhibited widely throughout North America and is included in some of the country’s best collections of Inuit art. Dimensions: 26.5"x34.5" Pickup category timeslot {A}