Artist

Materials

Description

Bronze cast beaver sitting on hind legs, holding a piece of wood with both paws to chew on it. The beaver is attached to a rectangular stone base, situated in its centre, with the tail extending diagonally into the proper right corner of the base. The fur texture of the beaver is visible on the body and head. The stone is nonuniform in texture, with various pores and particulates visible throughout the cutting. Artist label is attached to the bottom centre of the base reads “Original Bronze Sculpture by Siggy Puchta Carved and Cast in Ontario Canada Limited Edition No. 497/500.” 

Artist Siggy (Siegfried) Puchta (1933-2015) was born in Germany to a family of sculptors. He showed natural talent for the craft from a young age and was apprenticed to a woodcarver after his formal schooling. He fled East Germany in 1953 and went to Canada. He began teaching wood carving and displaying his own work. In 1965 he was accepted into the Sculptors Society of Canada, and he continued to display his artwork throughout North America. He completed many high profile commissions for patrons in both the US and in Canada, notably the Ontario Police Memorial and the Firefighters Memorial at Provincial Government Building, Queens Park, Toronto. 

This casting is part of a limited edition series 497/500. 

Marks/Labels

White label with brown text which reads: "Bronze sculpture by Siggy Puchta, carved and cast in Ontario, Canada Limited Edition No. 497/500."

Inscription of artist visible on proper left side of tail reading “S Puchta”

Accession number “80.5.939” visible on top proper right of stone base. 

Category