The Banks Collection: Early Sculpture from Sanikiluaq
As president of the Belcher Mining Corporation, Douglas Banks made several trips to the Belcher Islands in the early-to-mid-1950s. During that time, the Toronto-based executive acquired numerous sculptures in stone and ivory from the region’s first artists, many from the present-day community of Sanikiluaq.
The Marion Scott Gallery is very pleased to have presented a selection of these rare and exceptional pieces, the first documented works of the Contemporary Period from the Belcher Islands. Modest in size, the sculptures range from exquisitely delicate birds and intriguing semi-functional compositions to dynamic hunting scenes of great complexity.
At once beautiful and historically significant, the works in the Banks Collection belong to an important time in the development of modern-day Inuit art from the Canadian Arctic.
Sanikiluaq School
two seals, 1949 – 1954, stone, 1.25 x 5.25 x 1.5 in. (top) & 1 x 5 x 1.25 in. (bottom)
Sanikiluaq School
owl & two geese on base, 1949 – 1954, stone, wood & coloured medium, 4.5 x 7.25 x 3.75 in.
Sanikiluaq School
three owls on base, 1949 – 1954, stone, wood & coloured medium, 3.75 x 6.25 x 3.25 in.
Sanikiluaq School
hunter with birds, 1949 – 1954, stone, ivory, string & coloured medium, 7 x 4.75 x 3.5 in.
Sanikiluaq School
bookrest, 1949 – 1954, stone, ivory, wood & coloured medium, 3.5 x 6.75 x 5.25 in.
Sanikiluaq School
hunter harpooning walrus, 1949 – 1954, stone, wood, ivory, metal, sealskin & coloured medium, 8.5 x 9.5 x 6 in.
Sanikiluaq School
bird in flight on base, 1949 – 1954, stone, wood & coloured medium, 5.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 in.
