Lot 90
PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Dancing Polar Bear, mid-1980s
stone and antler, 15.5 x 10.5 x 5.25 in (39.4 x 26.7 x 13.3 cm)
signed, "ᐸᐅᑕ / ᓴᐃᓚ".

Provenance
Images Art Gallery, Toronto;
Galerie Elca London, Montreal;
Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto.

This marvelous Dancing Bear by Pauta is certainly in a lower weight class than his cousin (Lot 70), but he is, nonetheless, also a champion. Not only can this agile bear deftly dance on one foot, but he also balances remarkably well on the other. With this innovation, Pauta has, in effect, created two quite different sculptures. The idea was virtually unheard of when the master carved this beauty. This balancing trick is something that many followers and imitators of Pauta have learned to do over the years but their efforts almost always pale in comparison. Only a small number of Pauta bears are “ambidextrous” in this way, and only a few are as elegant and stylish as this example. This proportions of this Dancing Bear are beautiful in either position and the sculpture’s dynamics are superb either way. We wonder whether this piece flowed easily from Pauta’s gifted hands or if it took a long time to execute. But we are certain that Pauta really knocked this one out of the park. Home Run! (We apologize for the mixed sports metaphors, but we feel that Pauta really aced it with this piece.)

References: For other examples of Pauta Dancing Bears that balance on either foot see Harold Seidelman & James Turner, The Inuit Imagination: Arctic Myth and Sculpture, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre Ltd., 1993), fig. 171, p. 206. For a bear similar in style and pose see George Swinton, Sculpture of the Inuit, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1992 ed. only), fig. 892, p. 267.