HENRY EVALUARDJUK (1923-2007) IQALUIT (FROBISHER BAY)
Walking Polar Bear, c. 1980
stone, 6.25 x 12.5 x 5 in (15.9 x 31.8 x 12.7 cm)
signed, "HENRY / ᐃᕙᓗ ᐊᔪ".

Provenance
Waddington’s Auctions, Toronto, March 1990, Lot 737;
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, California.

We are most fortunate to have several works by Henry Evaluardjuk in the current auction. Originally from Igloolik, Evaluardjuk lived on the land in the Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay area until 1959 when he was hospitalized at the Mountain Sanitorium in Hamilton. He carved throughout his hospitalization; upon his release in the early 1960s, Evaluardjuk and his family settled in Frobisher Bay (now Iqaluit) where he was hired to supervise the local rehab arts program for a time.

Evaluardjuk produced a wide variety of subjects in his lengthy career, displaying equal prowess and sensitivity in his portrait busts, his depictions of hunters, and especially in his naturalistic portrayals of animals. So great were his depictions of polar bears that by the end of the 1970s, owning a “Henry Bear” was simply de rigueur for many collectors. It is easy to see why both Henry Evaluardjuk and Pauta Saila dominated the “bear market” for decades.

Looking at the best of Evaluardjuk’s bears, we sense the artist's intimate knowledge of his subject. He never tried to reproduce the same bear ad infinitum but rather depicted the polar bear in all stages and aspects of life, young and mature, male or female, hungry and on the hunt vs. satiated, etc. It is remarkable to think that despite such variety, each piece is recognizable as a work by the master. Judging from its proportions and stance, this gorgeous sculpture likely depicts a young, well-fed bear padding along at leisure.

References: For a slightly larger, fine example of a bear by the artist see First Arts, Toronto, 30 November 2021, Lot 92, and Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, 22 November 2017, Lot 91.