Frieze Masters 2017
Two Thousand Years of Inuit Art
October 4–7, 2017
Regent's Park, London, United Kingdom
late 19th century
wood, paint
height: 8 ½"
Inventory # E4208-160
Sold
Madeline Langworthy, Berkeley, California, collected in Alaska in the 1930s
This mask is part of an important group of Inupiaq portrait masks collected in the 1930’s by Madeline Thomas Langworthy (1893-1980). In her search for masks from Alaska, the artist and avid collector enlisted the help of agents of the US Mercantile company who were able to acquire many of these through their trade with remote Alaskan villages. Langworthy treasured the documents and correspondence associated with the collection. These documents have all been preserved in digital form adding a rich personal history to the Langworthy collection of Inupiaq portrait masks.