#33 • James Kivetoruk Moses Arctic Evening Umiak Sailing Scene

Part of June 2026 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $8,500.00

Status: Sold

Category: Art

An original mixed media work in ink and watercolor on paper by renowned Inupiaq artist James Kivetoruk Moses (1903-1982) of Cape Espenberg, Alaska. Widely regarded among the most important and sought-after Alaska Native artists of the twentieth century, Moses became celebrated for his remarkably detailed and culturally accurate depictions of traditional Arctic life. Following a disabling airplane crash in 1953 that ended his career as a subsistence hunter, he devoted himself to art, drawing upon a lifetime of firsthand experience on the Seward Peninsula. His works are represented in major institutional collections, including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Unusually large for the artist, the present composition is rendered in delicate shades of blue, gray, and amber and depicts four hunters navigating among drifting ice aboard a skin-covered umiak beneath the warm glow of a northern sky. A lone figure paddles nearby in a smaller craft while broken ice floes and a solitary seal occupy the foreground. The low horizon and luminous atmosphere lend the scene a quiet, almost ethereal quality, while the carefully rendered umiak and figures reflect the authenticity and intimate knowledge that distinguish Moses's finest works. The expansive format allows for an especially dramatic sense of distance and open water, qualities seldom encountered in the artist's smaller compositions. Signed lower left. Matted and framed under glass with an overall measurement of approximately 18.25" x 23.25" and a sight area measuring approximately 15" x 9.875".