Imagine a casting call, like one searching for actors for a play or movie, but for artwork. It was 1973, and art curators at TD were preparing to send a collection of works from what was then called the TD Inuit Art Collection south of the border for a first-of-its-kind exhibition in San Francisco, Calif. TD had just opened the Toronto-Dominion Bank of California, so San Francisco became the desired destination for the show.
Exhibition Chairman Budd Feheley and consultant Paul Duval went through the collection's astounding 650 sculptures – including small bone and walrus ivory carvings and as well as large soapstones – and 150 prints. One after another, they evaluated every piece for inclusion in the groundbreaking exhibition – one of the first to bring artforms from the North to an American audience.