, 2008. Fibreglass stone and airplane. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Purchased 2011. Photo © Roman März](/images/content/menuSeeGallery.png)
Benjamin West
The Death of General Wolfe (Detail), 1770
oil on canvas
152.6 x 214.5 cm
Transfer from the Canadian War Memorials, 1921 (Gift of the 2nd Duke of Westminster, England, 1918)
National Gallery of Canada (no. 8007)
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The Coming and Going of the Shaman, c. 1973
Karoo Ashevak
Canadian (Inuit), 1940
- 1974
whalebone, antler, and stone
38.5 x 27 x 29.5 cm
Purchased 1991
National Gallery of Canada (no. 35877.1-5)
© Public Trustee of Nunavut. Estate of Karoo Ashevak
Using the form of mother and child as a visual metaphor, Karoo depicts an initiation process - the transference of power from shaman to apprentice. As often is the case in his work, Karoo focuses on hands and face. The porous whale bone used for the woman/shaman's face - suggest decay, the waning of power and contrasts with the denser bone used for the younger, emerging apprentice.
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Figure41 x 44.2 x 10.5 cm
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