This rare 1950s sculpture is both imposing and incredibly charming. In style if not in pose, Reclining Polar Bear closely resembles a bear by Elijassiapik from c. 1954 illustrated in Darlene Wight’s Early Masters catalogue (p. 88), including the highly distinctive treatment of the animal’s nose. (Note that the resemblance would be even more obvious if the seated bear’s teeth and black nose inlay were not missing.) Elijassiapik’s Polar Bear in that catalogue rivals the very similarly posed bear carved by the artist’s good friend Johnny Inukpuk in the same publication (p. 85); he in fact lived at Inukpuk’s camp in the early 1950s. Wight could find only five documented works by Elijassiapik in public collections, but considered him important enough to include two of his sculptures in the WAG’s Early Masters exhibition.

Our feeling is that our Reclining Polar Bear by Elijassiapik was probably carved a good year later than his seated bear in the Early Masters catalogue. It’s a more fully realized sculpture, with a more defined sense of bear anatomy, beautiful ivory detailing, a pose that has a noticeable sense of movement, and real personality. We can’t help but feel that this bear is relaxing. It’s a truly delightful work of art.

References: See Elijassiapik’s Seated Polar Bear (and a delightful Bird) in Darlene Coward Wight, Early Masters: Inuit Sculpture 1949-1955 (Winnipeg, Winnipeg Art Gallery, 2006) pp. 88-89. For a fine Snarling Bear that is most likely by Elijassiapik see George Swinton, Eskimo Sculpture (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1965) p. 198. For a similarly styled and no doubt contemporaneous Bear and Walrus by the artist see Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec, The Permanent Collection (Montreal: CGCQ, 1980), figs. 285-286. For a figure of a walking polar bear by the artist (mid 1950s) see Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, May 2016, Lot 3.