Maudie Okittuq is a leading Nattilik (Netsilik) carver. Her Inuktitut name is Mauti (pronounced Moo-a-tee), after her grandmother, but her name was Anglicized to Maudie. She began carving in 1968 after moving to Taloyoak. Maudie rarely plans out a carving. She begins chipping away until she starts to see a figure in the stone and that’s when she decides what the figure will be. She originally used whale bone and hand tools such as axes and files to create her artwork, later transitioning to stone and power tools.

In 2006, a major collection of 246 sculptures was donated to the Gallery by Vancouver collector Dr. Harry Winrob. Originally from Winnipeg, Winrob had made occasional purchases of Inuit carvings beginning in 1968. He became interested in seriously collecting Inuit sculpture in 1971, and soon focused on acquiring works made of organic materials from game animals (whalebone, walrus ivory, and caribou antler). Fifty-four sculptures in Winrob’s collection are created from organic materials, and thirty-six of these are of whale bone. Winrob once gave his background as a physician as the reason for his interest in these materials. However, much of his interest was also aesthetic. He was particularly interested in the flamboyant sculpture by Nattilingmiut (Netsilik) artists from Taloyoak, Gjoa Haven, and Kugaaruk. Sculpture with shamanic content fascinated him, particularly animal/human transformations. He explained that it was not the “classic” but the atypical, even the bizarre that held a strong attraction for him. In March 2008, Harry Winrob’s collection was the subject of a major WAG exhibition and catalogue.