Another camel in the Arctic, this time a cool sculpture by Jaco Ishulutak, of Pangnirtung, Nunavut. He carved this in the 1990s - ahead of his time it seems, or did he know something the rest of us didn’t?

For International Polar Bear day we bring you a polar bear in a sweater. We’ve highlighted this beautiful sculpture, Balancing Act by Elias Semigak, before but it seemed the perfect piece to mark the day. So, turn down your thermostat, and put on a sweater!

photography by Dean Abramson

NHL hockey is back tonight! Arviat sculptor Chesley Nibgoarsi seems to be a hockey fan. Will you be watching?

Eight drummers drumming, what more can I say! And…there are more where these come from, too, since drumming is such an important part of Inuit celebrations, festivals, and ceremonies. All of these drummers are part of the Robert and Judith Toll collection of Inuit art.

Come spring, the tundra will be filled with geese-a-laying. Alaskan artists Thomas Aningayou carved this beautiful goose on a nest from whale bone and baleen.

I grew up singing about ‘four calling birds’ but Wikipedia tells me it should be ‘colly birds,’ or blackbirds. So for today, here is one of the coolest birds in the Arctic, the raven. There are more than four of them in this beautiful print by Arnaqu Ashevak, but who’s counting? The print is part of a fantastic new donation of Inuit Art to the museum from Marcia and Robert Ellis.
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I grew up singing about ‘four calling birds’ but Wikipedia tells me it should be ‘colly birds,’ or blackbirds. So for today, here is one of the coolest birds in the Arctic, the raven. There are more than four of them in this beautiful print by Arnaqu Ashevak, but who’s counting? The print is part of a fantastic new donation of Inuit Art to the museum from Marcia and Robert Ellis.

For today, a great soapstone carving of a bear. The artist, Eegewudloo Putapoo, has managed to carve so much expression into this piece!

Another staff favorite for today. This early Greenlandic carving of a woman carrying a baby in her amautik is a recommendation from our assistant curator, Anne. This statue “has an archaic design quality,” Anne says, “that looks almost modern to my eye.”

I, for one, love the angles and details on this figure - really lovely.

-M

Quick little art post for today: a whale carved from soapstone, by artist Napatchie Noah. The lines on this are so beautiful.

Walrus carved from serpentine and walrus ivory. Artist listed only as “Noah.”

This guy’s expression just kills me.