#47 • James Kivetoruk Moses Polar Bear Hunt Scene

Part of June 2025 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $8,400.00

Status: Sold

Category: Art

A beautiful original mixed media artwork rendered in ink and watercolor on paper by James Kivetroruk Moses (Inupiaq, 1903-1982), an artist whose works have greatly appreciated in auction results of recent years, and here is a beautiful example of why his hunting scenes have become so highly sought after by knowledgeable collectors. Moses spent the first half of his life as a subsistence hunter, but after a debilitating airplane crash in 1953 left him unable to continue hunting, he began a second career as an artist. Collectors and scholars have praised him for not only the drama, but also the anthropological accuracy of his works. Rendered in ink and watercolor on paper, this thriller documenting a polar bear hunt was created circa 1969, noting extreme similarities to a work held in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Signed and dated by the artist in the lower left corner, the framed work measures approximately 14.5" x 21" overall, with a 9.5" x 15.5" sight view.