Parr , ᐸ

Parr ᐸ (1893-1969), Kinngait (Cape Dorset)

THE COMPLETE COLLECTION OF PRINTS, 1961-1974

thirty-four prints, comprised of two stencils, twenty-six stonecuts, three engravings, and three etchings
,
BLUE GEESE FEEDING, 1961
sealskin stencil
titled, dated, and numbered 6/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 24.5 x 18.5 in — 62.2 x 47 cm

MEN AND WALRUS, 1961
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 49/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 30 x 20 in — 76 x 50.8 cm

MAN AMONG WALRUS, 1961
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 6/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 10 x 23.75 in — 25.4 x 60.3 cm

MY PEOPLE, 1961
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 29.75 x 20 in — 75.6 x 50.8 cm

UNTITLED, 1962
etching
numbered 11/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 12.5 x 17.5 in — 31.75 x 44.5 cm

UNTITLED, 1962
etching
numbered 14/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 15.26 x 12.75 in — 38.7 x 32.4 cm

UNTITLED, 1962
etching
numbered 8/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 13 x 19.2 in — 33 x 48.8 cm

MAN AND WHALE, 1962
stonecut
titled and numbered 32/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 11.25 x 24.5 in — 28.6 x 62.2 cm

DAY’S END, 1962
stonecut
numbered 24/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 19.5 x 24.75 in — 49.5 x 62.8 cm

GEESE AND INTRUDERS, 1962
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 39 x 24.75 in — 99 x 62.8 cm

THE HUNTERS, 1962
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 2/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 29.25 x 21 in — 74.3 x 53.3 cm

HARPOONING WALRUS, 1963
engraving
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 12 x 19.5 in — 30.5 x 49.53 cm

FOUR WOMEN, 1963
engraving
titled, dated, and numbered proof IV; artist’s name in syllabics
sheet 12.5 x 17.75 in — 31.75 x 45.1 cm

MAN AND CARIBOU, 1963
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 15/50; artist’s name in syllabics
sheet 8.75 x 24.75 in — 22.2 x 62.9 cm

GEESE, MAN AND ANIMALS, 1963
stencil print
titled, dated, and numbered proof I; artist’s name in syllabics
sheet 24.5 x 34 in — 62.2 x 86.4 cm

WALRUS HUNT, 1963
engraving
titled, dated, and numbered proof IV; artist’s name in syllabics
sheet 12.25 x 19.75 in — 31.1 x 50.2 cm

THE WALRUS HUNT, 1963
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 16/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics
sheet 17 x 24.5 in — 43.2 x 62.2 cm

THREE MEN, TWO DOGS, 1963
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 29/50; artist’s name in syllabics
sheet 27 x 24.5 in — 68.6 x 62.2 cm

DOG TEAMS, 1963
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 25/50; artist's name in syllabics
sheet 17 x 24.5 in — 43.2 x 62.2 cm

GEESE, DOG AND WALRUS, 1963
stonecut
titled; unmarked proof; artist’s name in syllabics
sheet 29 x 20.5 in — 73.6 x 52.1 cm

GAMES, 1964-65
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 21/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 16 x 12 in — 40.64 x 30.48 cm

WALRUS HUNT, 1964-65
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 36/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 24.5 x 36.5 in — 62.2 x 92.7 cm

MEN PULLING A WALRUS, 1964-65
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 4/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 17 x 24.5 in — 43.2 x 62.2 cm

BIRDS AND ANIMALS, 1964-65
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 4/50; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 24.25 x 34.75 in — 62.2 x 88.2 cm

THREE HUNTERS, ONE WALRUS, 1966
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 9/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics
sheet 24.75 x 33.75 in — 62.9 x 85.7 cm

HUNTER HAULING A SEAL, 1966
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 19.75 x 25 in — 50.1 x 63.5 cm

CHILDREN CHASING DOGS, 1966
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered 22/50; artist’s name in Roman and syllabics
sheet 24.5 x 33.75 in — 62.2 x 85.7 cm

FATHER AND SON HUNTING, 1967
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 24.5 x 14 in — 62.2 x 35.6 cm

WALRUS HUNTERS ON SEA ICE, 1967
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 24.5 x 34 in — 62.2 x 86.4 cm

THREE HUNTERS WITH WALRUS, 1968
stonecut
titled, dated, and numbered proof I; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 24.25 x 34 in — 62.2 x 86.4 cm

SEAL HUNTER, 1969
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 24.5 x 16.75 in — 62.2 x 42.5 cm

INNUKSHUIT A PLAY, 1969
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 17 x 24.25 in — 43.1 x 61.6 cm

HUNTERS, 1970
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; artist’s name in Roman
sheet 24 x 36 in — 61 x 91.4 cm

HUNTERS OF OLD, 1974
stonecut
titled and dated; proof; inscribed “after Parr”
sheet 24.25 x 33.5 in — 61.5 x 85 cm


Provenance:
Gallery One, Toronto, ON
Private Collection, Toronto, ON

Exhibited:
Parr 1893-1969: A Print Retrospective, Gallery One, Toronto, ON, Dec 1979

Literature:
Parr 1893-1969: A Print Retrospective (Cape Dorset: Kingait Press, 1979)

Note:
In 1979 on the 10th anniversary of Parr’s death, the Toronto gallery, Gallery One, presented a complete retrospective of Parr’s prints. Assembled with great foresight and difficulty over a period of more than 15 years, the exhibition of 34 prints may have been the only time to date that the complete printed works of Parr have been viewable in one place. Waddington's is honoured to present this important collection at auction, which has been held in storage since the exhibition.

The lot is accompanied by an original copy of the retrospective catalogue, Parr 1893-1969: A Print Retrospective.

The following is the introduction for the accompanying catalogue to the exhibition, which was published in collaboration between Gallery One and the West Baffin Co-operative.

Parr died on November 3rd, 1969, in his seventy-sixth year. As a young man, his lifestyle was one that we would likely call primitive, one that was in harmony with a society that, in his day, had little to do with material wealth. Parr’s relationship with the land involved a total commitment that was dictated by harsh circumstance. He lived his entire life on southern Baffin Island amidst the hunting culture that he so faithfully and forcefully depicted in all his drawings.

Parr’s graphic images are perhaps best described as naive. In the spring of 1961, I introduced Parr to drawing on paper. At that time, he was living to the north of the very small settlement of Cape Dorset at a place known as Tessikjakjuak. His initial efforts, using graphite pencil, were done on a large format spiral sketch pad. From the very first, he was obviously intrigued and totally committed to the undertaking, for he drew on both sides of the sheets, completely filling the very sizable area.

Parr’s early drawings had a narrative theme, and his work continued in this vein throughout his brief but very prolific career. His figures, whether of man or beast, were direct and uninhibited. The sizes of the individual images done on the planar surface were directly related to their significance in his mind and not to any perspective representation. Unlike other Dorset artists, Parr seldom depicted any form of myth or transformation. Rather, he executed drawings of naturalistic subjects, those images fondly recalled from his early years as a hunter. Rarely would he do other than completely fill a page with animals and men. Select groups of figures were infrequent; this is especially true in the few appearances of women in his drawings.

Parr’s extremely direct style of drawing and shading was very often further enhanced by the stonecut method of printing. The three master printers, Lukta, Ottochie and Iyola, were responsible for executing his designs and did so through precise and laborious efforts. Other of Parr’s drawings adopted quite another feeling when interpreted in stencil form, a feeling not unlike the original crayon, pastel and pentel works.

Parr found copper engraving a difficult task and refused to forsake his preferred medium of pencil on paper. In an attempt to help him better his copper-plate efforts, he was introduced to soft-ground etching, yet he never fully understood nor wished to partake in controlling the acid-bath technique dictated by the medium. After several plates had been proofed and editioned in this manner, Parr returned once again to drawing on paper.

Parr was an elderly man when his artistic career began, and from the outset he suffered bouts of senility. Impaired hearing also affected detailed verbal communication, although it was not in Parr’s nature to comment seriously on his drawings. Fellow Cape Dorset artists failed to show any appreciation for his work, but nevertheless he persisted in his endeavours until just shortly before his death. In his humble fashion, Parr would sit simply on his sleeping platform, balancing sheets of paper on his outstretched legs, drawing intently, and peering through eye-glasses that never seemed to fulfill their function to his satisfaction.

By January, 1969, Parr was no longer able to draw, yet in those few years as an artist he had executed over two thousand drawings. They remain today as a testimony to a man anxious to record a fading way of life in which he had shared.

Terry Ryan, Parr 1893-1969: A Print Retrospective (Cape Dorset: Kingait Press, 1979)

Estimate: $50,000—70,000