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Engraved Walrus Tusk
Engraved Walrus Tusk
Artist (c. 1870 - 1918, Inupiat)

Engraved Walrus Tusk

Datec. 1904-1908
DimensionsOverall: 3 1/2 × 2 1/4 × 28 1/4 in. (8.9 × 5.7 × 71.8 cm)
Object numberT0713
Credit LineGift of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextAngokwazhuk (Happy Jack), the artist of this double portrait of himself and his first wife, Malinda, began to carve toys and buttons during a period of convalescence. He then worked as a cabin boy aboard a whaling ship. There he saw sailors making scrimshaw, a decorative engraved carving done on whale’s teeth and walrus tusk. Angokwazhuk soon established himself in Nome as an important artist and residents and travelers eagerly sought his engravings. The summer encampment scene may be the work of another artist.
Exhibition History"Treasures from the Thaw Collection," Wheelwright Museum of American Indian Art. Santa Fe, NM, May 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000.

"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.

"Nature's Nation: American Art and Environment," Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, October 13, 2018 - January 6, 2019; Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA, February 2, 2019 - May 5, 2019; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, May 25, 2019 - September 9, 2019.
ProvenanceFred Peterson, Sr., Nome, Alaska; Fred Peterson, Jr., Nome, Alaska; Paul Steinhacker, New York City
Bibliography"Chicagoan's Relics Brought From Nome," The Daily News, October 1913.

Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.346.

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 498.

Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 146-148.

Murdock, Michelle, ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 31.
On View
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5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
607-547-1400

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