Additional Images

Provenance:

Fred Coman, Iqaluit, NU, ca. 1985;
Private Collection, Ontario

Note:

Originally from the area around Igloolik, Evaluardjuk carved some of his early sculpture while in residence at the Mountain Sanitorium in Hamilton where he was treated for tuberculosis. At the beginning of the 1960s, Evaluardjuk and his family settled in Iqaluit (Frobisher Bay); it was there where he began to be known for his remarkably lifelike sculptures of bears. Attentive to posture and the anatomical detail of his subject, Evaluardjuk’s many iterations of the animal have prompted dedicated collectors to seek out numerous examples of his work.

Foraging Polar Bear, with its finely incised surface pattern and inset ivory teeth is stylistically among the earliest examples of Evaluardjuk’s address of the subject, and yet is full of naturalistic detail. The sculpture was collected in Iqaluit by longtime resident and entrepreneur Fred Coman, who knew Henry Evaluardjuk in the 1980s while operating Dublanco (now Coman Arctic Limited).

Many countries prohibit or restrict importation or exportation of property containing ivory, whale bone, sealskin, and/or products derived from other endangered or protected species, and require special licenses or permits in order to import or export such property. It is the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that the item is properly and lawfully exported / imported. Please do not hesitate to contact one of our specialists for further details.