#65 • Rie Muñoz "Reindeer Roundup" Trial Proof c.1981

Part of The Works of Rie Muñoz Art Auction (timed auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $275.00

Status: Sold

Category: Art

A signed proof by Alaska artist Rie Muñoz entitled "Reindeer Roundup" and marked "Trial Proof". The image depicts villagers on Nunivak Island as they form a human funnel to help herd the stampede of reindeer into a large corral. This piece was inspired by the artist's stay on Nunivak Island in 1962 after being hired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to sketch the reindeer roundup; she and her son stayed for a month on the 40-square mile remote island. Sixteen reindeer were first brought to Alaska from Siberia in 1891 to provide meat for Native villages. At one point, the herd had grown to about 24,000, with another 950,000 caribou roaming free in Alaska. Reindeer and caribou are the same beast, but a reindeer is a caribou that has been domesticated. When it was time to roundup, six runners and a dog would go by foot to break off 1000-2000 reindeer and herd them back to the village. The villagers would meet the herders and reindeer at the opening of a large corral, making a human extension of the entrance which fanned out quite a distance, and as a result, the thousands of reindeer would stampede into the corral. Alaska has had a long history of reindeer herding, particularly in western and northern Alaska where herds became both an economic resource and cultural fixture for many Indigenous communities. The print is accompanied by a note from the Rie Muñoz Gallery that reads "The Bureau of Indian Affairs commissioned Rie Muñoz to go to Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea in 1967 to document the annual reindeer roundup. The 12 or so B&W drawings hang in the Juneau Federal Building downstairs lobby." As marked, this version is a trial proof with registration ink marks visible in multiple places. Lower left is a fun addition of Rie's black and white dog, Buddie Pierre. Titled lower left, marked "Trial Proof" lower center, and then signed and dated by the artist c.1981, lower right. Shrink-wrapped on board measuring approximately 18" x 27" with a sight view of 16.5" x 25".