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Parka (Qas'peq)
Parka (Qas'peq)

Parka (Qas'peq)

Datec. 1890-1910
DimensionsOverall: 58 × 44 in. (147.3 × 111.8 cm)
Object numberT0763
Credit LineGift of Eugene Victor Thaw Art Foundation
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextFor centuries Eskimo women made seal-gut parkas to protect hunters from wind and rain on land and sea. Respect for animals’ spirits was especially important for men during all aspects of the hunt, and for women during the careful cleaning and sewing of the skins. The seal gut was first thoroughly cleaned and then blown into a long tubular shape. The seal gut on this parka was cured in sub-zero temperatures. This type of curing made the gut opaque, providing a contrast for the vivid red and purple aniline-dyed walrus fur. The inverted V-pattern may signify the head of a harpoon, mountains, or wolves’ teeth.
Exhibition History"Art Des Indiens D'Amerique Du Nord Dans La Collection D'Eugene Thaw," Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France, Somogy Editions D'Art, January 21, 2000 - March 18, 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.

"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, May 9, 2017 - October 8, 2017.

"American Indian Art from the Fenimore Art Museum: The Thaw Collection," Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, October 13, 2018 - December 31, 2018.

"Hearts of Our People," Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MI, May 26, 2019 - August 18, 2019; Frist Center for Visual Art, Nashville, TN, September 29, 2019 - January 12, 2020; Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, February 23, 2020 - May 17, 2020; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK, October 17, 2020 - January 3, 2021.
ProvenanceAnnie Oktokiyuk by descent from her father, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska; Meryl Goldfarb, Chicago, Illinois; Don Ellis, Dundas Ontario
BibliographyDon Ellis Gallery 1998, pp.8-9.

Perriot, Francoise and Slim Batteux, trans. Arts de Indiens d’Amerique du Nord: Dans la Collection d’ Eugene et Clare Thaw. Paris: Somogy editions e’Art. 1999, p. 146, fig. 115.

Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.442,443.

Brasser, Theodore. Native American Clothing: An Ullustrated History, Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books, 2009. p. 355.

Fognell, Eva. “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection.” Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2010, p. 154-155.

Murdock, Michelle, ed. 50 at 20: Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, NY: Fenimore Art Museum, 2015, p. 31.

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. 493.
On View
On view
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5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
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