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Artworks
PAUTA SAILA, R.C.A. (1916-2009) KINNGAIT (CAPE DORSET)
Dancing Bear, c. mid 1970sstone, 6.25 x 7 x 4.25 in (15.9 x 17.8 x 10.8 cm)
signed, "ᓴᐃᓚ / ᐸᐅᑕ ".Lot 98
ESTIMATE: $5,000 — $8,000
PRICE REALIZED: $12,000.00Further images
There are a few things that come to mind when one pictures a bear by Pauta Saila; the grace and power of the curved volumes and lines, the strength and...There are a few things that come to mind when one pictures a bear by Pauta Saila; the grace and power of the curved volumes and lines, the strength and ferocity in the expression and pose, and of course the impressive scale that often accompanies a Pauta Bear. With this delightfully rotund and petite example we find a charming, cub-like bear, perhaps mimicking his elders on one foot as he dances. As he balances – almost as a skater might – we can’t help but be charmed by the hint of a smile. Perhaps he enjoys putting on a show.
References: For another example of a more petite bear by the artist, see First Arts, Toronto, 5 December 2022, Lot 109. For other fine examples of balancing (“dancing”) bears by Pauta, albeit larger examples, see Ingo Hessel, Inuit Art: An Introduction, (Douglas & McIntyre, 1998) cover and p. 125 (from 1984 in the Sarick Collection, AGO); also Gerald McMaster, ed., Inuit Modern: The Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection, (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2010), p. 117 (from 1973, also Sarick, Art Gallery of Ontario). See also Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, 3 May 2012, Lot 24; Walker’s Auctions, Toronto, 4 November 2012, Lots 22 and 77; Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, 5 May 2013, Lot 15; Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, 18 November 2015, Lot 203; Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, 22 November 2017, Lot 62.
Provenance
Private Collection, USA.
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