by Ethel Washington
Ethel Washington was born in 1889 and died in 1968. Her Inupiaq name was Napatuktoo. She started making dolls, in the Eskimo skin sewing tradition, to sell to people in Kotzebue Alaska in the 1930's. Her work is legendary and was so meticulous that she could make only a few dolls each year, hence their great rarity.
Ethel Washington's doll family: the father, mother, and child. The faces are hand carved from birch. Wonderful condition.
For more information on Ethel Washington see
"Ethel Washington: The Life and Times of an Eskimo Doll Maker" (Alaska Historical Commission studies in history: 31)
by Basil Hedrick (former director of the University of Alaska Museum).
Price, questions? email me at dick@AlaskaWanted.com
These dolls will be shipped by Registered Mail.
"She was by far the best of these
artists,
and frequently patterned the features of the dolls
after real people whom she knew; they show a warmth
and vitality rarely seen in 'primitive art' of this type.
Ethel spent so much time on the meticulous detail
of the dolls that her output was never prolific,
and when finally completed, it would be eagerly
snapped up by collectors."
Dr. Frederick J. Dockstaderand frequently patterned the features of the dolls
after real people whom she knew; they show a warmth
and vitality rarely seen in 'primitive art' of this type.
Ethel spent so much time on the meticulous detail
of the dolls that her output was never prolific,
and when finally completed, it would be eagerly
snapped up by collectors."