Investment Piece - LAST 18" Stunning Dancing Bear by the Late Legendary Axangayuk Shaa (1937-2019)

Investment Piece - LAST 18" Stunning Dancing Bear by the Late Legendary Axangayuk Shaa (1937-2019)

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Axangayuk Shaa

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Inuit art: Dancing Bear
Inuit Artist: Axangayuk Shaa
Size: ­­­­19" tall, 8" wide, 8" deep. Weight: 33 lbs.
Community: Cape Dorset, NU
Stone: Serpentine
id: dfa-6923Lddjjy

** This item is Eligible for Layaway Plan

INVESTMENT PIECE: ** In 5-10 years, Shaa’s Dancing bear will be worth over 6 figures as will be the art of all the Master Carvers. We have kept several of Axangayuk Shaa's pieces in our private collection because we adore his work AND we are well aware of their investment potential. 

PROVENANCE: This is the very last available sculpture from the Late and Legendary Axangayuk Shaa.

This beguiling Dancing bear was a consignment from a recently shuttered gallery. We were so fortunate to be able to procure this treasure and now we are excited to offer it to our loyal clients.

For the last 65 years, legendary Master Carver Axangayuk Shaa has brought joy and wonder to the hearts of Inuit art aficionados. The Dancing Walrus has become synonymous with his name.

When Axangayuk passed away in 2019, the world lost one of the great Inuit carvers of modern times. His creatures were robust and often imaged with theatrical flair. The Inuit art community, rushed to acquire his last remaining pieces.

This rare Shaa art piece will be quickly appreciated and sold!

This apple green Dancing bear is exquisite. Not only is he dancing, he seems to be “Striking a pose”.

His head is turned to the extreme left with his snout reaching to the sky as if he has been caught in the drama of the Tango.

This is an extraordinary piece and it is very possibly the last piece available  to the public.

This piece is so fluid, that the bear appears to be moving! This Shaa art piece has the real potential to be the star of your art collection.

This bear would be an outstanding gift for any art lover. Its provenance is especially attractive because it will greatly affect the value of this piece.


PROUDLY CANADIAN SINCE 2008



Axangayu Shaa (1935 - ) Axangayu Shaa (1935 - )

"A grandson of the carver Kiakshuk and the only child of artists Paunichea and Munamee Davidee, Aqjangajuk began carving at the age of seventeen. He participated in the early drawing projects of Cape Dorset but realized his strengths lay in sculpture and did not draw after 1970. Only one graphic by him, Wounded Caribou, was ever released, in the 1961 Cape Dorset annual print collection. His work was in the famous 1971-73 touring exhibition "Sculpture/Inuit. Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic". Since 1970, he has had 11 solo exhibitions, as well as appearing in many group shows, and his work is in many major museum collections, including the National Gallery of Canada and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York." - from "Cape Dorset Sculpture", Douglas & McIntyre, 2005

Axangayuk Shaa was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2003. Academicians are elected to membership of the RCA on the basis of their significant body of work that has been recognized by their peers in the discipline of their choice for its excellence and innovation. Candidates are nominated and brought forward by seven RCA members in good standing for review by the Membership Committee, which is a multi-discipline body representing all regions of Canada.

Exhibitions:
1981 The Inuit Sea Goddess. Surrey Art Gallery. Vancouver, British Columbia
1981 Cape Dorset Sculptors and Their Sculpture. The Inuit Art Collector. Mr. & Mrs. James F. Bacon. Manchester, Connecticut. USA
1981 The Jacqui and Morris Shumiatcher Collection
1980 Four Sculptors from Baffin Island. Upstairs Gallery. Winnipeg, Manitoba
1980 Waddington's Inuit Auction. Waddington Galleries. Toronto, Ontario
1980 1980 Canadian Eskimo Art: Carvings, Cape Dorset Prints with sculptures by Axangayu. Franz Bader Gallery. Washington, D.C. USA
1980 The Klamer Family Collection of Inuit Art from the Art Gallery of Ontario. University of Guelph. Guelph, Ontario
1980 First Annual Collectors' Invitational Exhibition. Eskimo Art. San Fransico, California
1980 Collector's Choice. Waddington Galleries. Toronto, Ontario
1980 Cape Dorset. Winnipeg Art Gallery. Winnipeg, Manitoba
1979 Sculpture of the Inuit: Masterwork Exhibitors of the Canadian Arctic. Inuit Gallery of Vancouver. Vancouver, British Columbia
1979 Exhibition and Sale of Musk-Oxen & Bears. Cottage Craft Gifts & Fine Arts Ltd. Calgary, Alberta
1979 Die Kunst der Arktis. Villa Waldrich, Siegen, Germany. Inuit Galerie. Mannheim, West Germany
1977-1982 The Inuit Print. National Museum of Man, and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Ottawa, Ontario
1977 Kaka and Axangayuk. Gallery Shop. London Public Library. London, Ontario
1975 Cape Dorset/Selected Sculpture from the Collection of W.A.G.. Winnipeg Art Gallery. Winnipeg, Manitoba.
1974 Eskimo Art. Queens Museum. Flushing, New York, USA
1974 Eskimo Stone Sculpture, featuring Azangayuk, Johnniebo, Kenojuak. Arctic Circle. Los Angeles, California. USA
1974 Inuit Sculpture 1974. Lippel Gallery. Montreal, Quebec
1974 Cape Dorset Sculpture. Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec. Montreal, Quebec
1972 Eskimo Fantastic Art. Gallery 111, School of Art. University of Manitoba. Winnipeg, Manitoba.
1971-1973 Sculpture/Inuit: Masterworks of the Canadian Arctic. Canadian Eskimo Arts Council. Ottawa, Ontario
1971 The Art of the Eskimo, Simon Fraser Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia
1970 Mythology in Stone. Canadian Guild of Crafts Quebec. Montreal, Quebec
1969 Eskimo Sculpture '69. Robertson Galleries. Ottawa, Ontario
1967 Eskimo Sculpture. Winnipeg Art Gallery presented at the Manitoba Legislative Building. Winnipeg, Manitoba
1966 Major Eskimo Sculpture- Cape Dorset, Isaacs Gallery. Toronto, Ontario
1961 Cape Dorset Graphics

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