BCSFA CGP CSPWC OC RCA
1909 - 1998
Canadian
Bella Bella
watercolour and crayon on paper
signed, titled, dated August 28, 1939 and inscribed "Head-dress, Raven with Human Face, Victoria Museum" and on verso inscribed "Indian masks 1"
20 1/2 x 16 in, 52.1 x 40.6 cm
Estimate: $7,000 - $9,000 CAD
Sold for: $12,870
Preview at: Heffel Vancouver
PROVENANCE
By descent to the present Private Collection, British Columbia
LITERATURE
Marjorie M. Halprin, Jack Shadbolt and the Coastal Indian Image, UBC Museum of Anthropology, 1986, page 26
Jack Shadbolt was introduced to Emily Carr in 1930 in Victoria, and was struck by her powerful paintings of Indian villages and totems. By the mid-1930s, Shadbolt was sketching native masks in Victoria’s BC Provincial Museum (now the Royal BC Museum), such as this remarkable watercolour of a compelling Raven with Human Face mask. The cracks from weathering in this marvellously detailed mask make its beauty all the more fragile and evocative. Shadbolt wrote of the importance of such images, “The Indian mode of expressing things from inside out, out of deep interior identification with the spirit of the image portrayed, gave me my inventive impetus as well as helping me to my personal mode of abstraction.” He would continue to integrate native imagery into his work throughout his career because, as he wrote, “Their imprint is on my mind. Whenever I look out on our wilderness I am haunted by evocations of their memory...they give my view of nature a deeper solemnity, a nostalgia for the oneness with a wild world - and a reproach to aspects of our pragmatic environment.”
Estimate: $7,000 - $9,000 CAD
All prices are in Canadian Dollars
Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information posted, errors and omissions may occur. All bids are subject to our
Terms and Conditions of Business. Bidders must ensure they have satisfied themselves with the
condition of the Lot prior to bidding. Condition reports are available upon request.