Head of a Bear is a drawing study made by Leonardo da Vinci circa 1480.

It is one of four surviving drawings of animals from this period in Leonardo's life, the others being A Bear Walking (in the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Studies of a Dog's Paw (in the Scottish National Gallery) and Two Studies of a Cat and One of a Dog (in the British Museum).

It is known that Gallerani did not pose with an actual ermine (stoat), so Leonardo may have drawn upon his earlier work.

[2] By the 18th century Head of a Bear was in the collection of the British painter Sir Thomas Lawrence.

It was exhibited for the first time in 1937 and was included in Bernard Berenson's 1938 book The Drawings of the Florentine Painters.

[1] Kaplan allowed the drawing to be exhibited alongside the Lady with an Ermine at the National Gallery in 2011 and at the Long Museum in Shanghai.

[1] It attracted only one bid, placed in person by a young American man and woman, who also purchased an autographed manuscript by Sir Isaac Newton for £1.7 million (including fees).

The 2021 sale was the first of a Leonardo drawing since Horse and Rider was sold, also at Christie's, in 2001 for £8.1 million (including fees).