Lucassie Alayco, Inuit, and others
Figure of a Bear
Inuit, 1933-1966
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- Artist/Maker: Lucassie Alayco
- Culture: Inuit
- Culture: Canadian Inuit
Figure of a Bear
Inuit, 1933-1966
Physical Qualities
Stone, 2 15/16 × 2 3/4 × 8 11/16 in. (7.5 × 7 × 22 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Watchorn, Sykesville, Maryland
Object Number
1992.181
In the late 1940s, Canadian Inuit artists began to craft stone sculptures of the Arctic animals that had supported communities for generations for sale to Qallunaat (the Inuktitut word for non-Inuit people). At that time, Inuit society was rapidly changing as people moved from nomadic lifestyles into settled communities, but artworks like these did not reflect those transitions. Instead, Native artists depicted elements of traditional life that appealed to the Qallunaat market. The collapse of the once-lucrative fur trade and the steep decline of caribou populations pushed Inuit peoples to find alternative means to provide for their communities. With the support of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, the Qallunaat artist James Houston encouraged the establishment of Inuit artistic communities and championed Inuit art to the “southern” market through a targeted marketing campaign.
Mrs. Watchorn says they purchased this in Canada c. 1955.
Arctic Artistry
Swinton, George, 1972, Sculpture of the Eskimo, New York Graphic Society, Boston.
Inscribed: E9-1069 is Lucassie's disk number inscribed on bottom of back paw, on same paw is artist's name in syllabics. Label on bottom says '117/Canadian/Eskimo Art'.
