# Simon Tookoome artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/simon-tookoome/
Profile generated: 2026-08-24T17:16:53.847Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Nationality: Canadian, Inuk
- Movements: Inuit art
- Common media: Drawing, Printmaking and graphic art, Carving and sculpture

## About Simon Tookoome

Simon Tookoome (1934–2010) was a Canadian Utkusiksalingmiut Inuk artist associated with Baker Lake, also known as Qamani’tuaq, in Nunavut. Authority records identify him as a graphic artist and carver, while biographical sources also document drawing, printmaking, and sculpture within his practice. He lived in Qamani’tuaq from 1965 and became known beyond the community through both his visual work and his collaboration with Sheldon Oberman on The Shaman's Nephew: A Life in the Far North. Collectors may encounter Tookoome through works on paper, prints, carvings, sculptures, mixed-media pieces, and other editioned material. Because auction catalogues can classify the same kind of object in different ways, identification should begin with the medium, signature or inscriptions, dimensions, date, edition information, and provenance rather than the auction category alone. His identity is supported by several international authority records, although the collected source pack contains limited museum-level biographical detail.

## Common works and media

Authority and biographical records identify drawing, graphic art, printmaking, carving, and sculpture as documented parts of Tookoome’s practice. In auction and appraisal contexts, works may therefore appear as drawings or other works on paper, prints and editions, carved objects, sculpture, or mixed-media material. Broad catalogue labels such as fine art, decorative art, and paintings should be checked against the object’s actual medium and construction.

## Market and appraisal context

Appraisal of a Simon Tookoome work should begin with comparable public sales in the same medium and with similar dimensions, date, subject, condition, and edition status. Signatures, inscriptions, attribution confidence, provenance, exhibition history, and catalogue references can also affect how closely one result compares with another. Appraisily’s matched records span works on paper and prints, sculpture and mixed media, decorative or editioned objects, and broadly classified fine art. Those categories should not be treated as interchangeable. Public auction results provide useful market evidence, but they may omit private transactions and can differ in whether reported prices include premiums or fees. Authentication, physical inspection, and a precise condition assessment remain important before reaching a value conclusion.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine public artist-identity research with matched auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Public sales are evidence for comparison, not a substitute for authentication, condition review, or a complete appraisal.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3484464
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/23378681/
- IdRef: https://www.idref.fr/080582133
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500127644
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Tookoome
- Wikipedia: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Tookoome
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/simon-tookoome/