Bonhams Presents Wendy and Les Fisher’s Collection of Canadian Inuit Art

Dr. Les Fisher, director of Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois, and his late wife Wendy acquired an extensive collection of Canadian Inuit art over the years. Bonhams will offer items from the couple’s collection in an upcoming auction of Canadian Inuit art. Headlining the auction is a painting by Native American artist Fritz Scholder. A member of the federally recognized California Mission Luiseno tribe of the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, Scholder often painted distorted subjects with bright, vivid colors. The available oil painting, titled Luiseño, shows a figure with a human-like body and animalistic facial features walking next to their shadow. The unframed painting stands 80 inches tall and is signed by the artist in the lower right corner. 

Also available in the auction are works by sculptor Judas Ullulaq. While Ullulaq’s sculptures were largely made using stone, the artist was known for incorporating mixed-media accents such as bone, whalebone, ivory, antler, sinew, and musk-ox horn. The Caribou Hunter is a highlighted sculpture by the Canadian Inuit artist. The stone and wood piece depicts a seated hunter wearing goggles and holding a caribou. The sculpture is signed in syllabics on the underside and measures 18 ½ inches tall, 12 inches wide, and 18 inches in depth. View the complete auction catalog and register to bid by visiting Bonhams.