Look at this absolute unit! In 1967, the Borough of Etobicoke purchased this soapstone sculpture of a walrus to celebrate the centennial of Canadian Confederation. Inuit sculptor Pierre Karlik of Rankin Inlet, NWT (Kangiqliniq, Nunavut) had blasted the black stone from a quarry himself, and brought it back to his workshop with a dogsled. At the time, the walrus was the largest soapstone sculpture ever made, weighing in at 613 pounds. It was meant to be an answer to the City of Toronto's latest public art purchase, the sculpture titled The Archer by Henry Moore. Councillors wanted the walrus to be the centrepiece of a fountain in front of the Etobicoke Civic Centre, but an art conservator advised them against the idea, warning that the soft soapstone would soon be damaged. The walrus was instead installed inside the building, in a small ceremony involving the mayor and councillors. Pierre Karlik does not seem to have been invited to the installation. You can now see the walrus at th...