Beginning in the 1990s, Dorset Fine Arts began releasing historical print editions that, due to various reasons, had never been released in the southern market. Finally released in 2002, Proud Walrus is a delightful and strong print that would have fit right in with the artist’s other offerings in the 1963 collection; it reminds us particularly of the delightful Running Rabbit from that year. Printed in a deep, bold navy, this walrus stands and meets the gaze of the viewer. His tusks almost shine out from the ink, a reminder that despite Pudlo’s tendency to have a playfulness in his creatures, they are still wild animals.

References: Pudlo’s prints and drawings are widely loved and much published, but the most important source of information on the artist remains the landmark solo exhibition catalogue by Marie Routledge et al., Pudlo: Thirty Years of Drawing, (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1990). Early 1960s graphite drawings that are visually related to this print are cats. 1, 2, 7, 8, 11, and 12 in that catalogue.