Untitled (Man and Dogs)

Description

Untitled (Man and Dogs) by Luke Anguhadluq – Inuit Art – Baker Lake c. 1970 original drawing presented by DaVic Gallery of Native Canadian Arts.

Condition:          Overall good condition. Stain from previous framing 1/4″ along left edge of paper (see picture # 5).  This can easily be covered when framed again.

Description by Artist:     No description by artist found.

Notes from DaVic Gallery:    Luke would rotate the paper as he drew and this is the reason why often his images are presented in circular formation of the subjects.  In this case we can see Luke may have rotated the paper in two different ways, one horizontal to draw the three dogs and one vertical to draw the man.  This is interesting because this represents Luke, standing in two places at the same time, one side of the dogs as the walk by in front of him, and the other as if standing behind the dogs thus facing the man that is standing or walking and opposite direction as the dogs.  Another interesting observation is, what is the main subject, the man or the dogs?  If the drawing is positioned horizontal the way it was signed, then the dogs appear to be the main subject and the man is secondary.  If positioned vertical, the man is clearly the main subject while the dogs are secondary walking away from the man. However in this position Luke’s signature does not show properly.

As it is usual with Luke’s compositions, there is much activity and story in this this drawing where the man may just be coming back from moving camps or hunting and just released the dogs while he is going back to his camp where his family waits.  The dogs show very sharp teeth and may be very tired as they stick their tongues out, which would validate my perception they be coming back from a long active day..

Reference picture # 4 for size comparison with letter size paper.