Jimmy Taipanak is best known for his small carvings of polar bears and other animals, and his mask-like human faces. His faces especially but even his animal carvings remind us of the style, and certainly the sensibility of the artist John Kavik of Rankin Inlet. All Taipanak’s works exhibit simplified form; this delightful bear, while certainly quirky, is less crudely formed and certainly more highly finished than most. Taipanak was married to the well-respected and much-loved Baker Lake textile artist Annie Piklak Taipanak.

References: For similar works by the artist see Walker’s Auctions, March 2020, Lot 34; and Waddington’s Auctions, November 2008, Lot 305.