Charlie Sivuarapik

Canadian, 1911–1968

Man Carrying a Caribou, c. 1954

stone, bone, sinew

17.8 x 15.2 x 24.1 cm

Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery; Bessie Bulman Collection; Gift of the heirs of the Bessie Bulman Estate

G-72-88

Categories:

Sculpture, Inuit

In the late 1950s Charlie Sivuarapik was the most recognized artist from Puvirnituq. He was the subject of articles that appeared in The Beaver magazine in 1956 and in Canadian Geographic Journal in 1960. That same year his meticulously detailed carvings brought him the distinction of being elected to the Sculptors Society of Canada, and he subsequently placed the letters S.S.C. with his signature on his most notable carvings. By the 1950s works such as Man Carrying Caribou confirmed Sivuarapik’s artistic and technical prowess as a sculptor. Human figures are in motion and interact realistically with the animals being hunted. The 16 carvings by Sivuarapik in the WAG collection exhibit no repetition of subject matter and the workmanship is of consistently high quality.