JOHN LIVINGSTON (1951-2019), NON-INDIGENOUS, ADOPTED KWAKWA̱KA̱ʼWAKW, Frog Man Dish, 1971

JOHN LIVINGSTON (1951-2019), NON-INDIGENOUS, ADOPTED KWAKWA̱KA̱ʼWAKW

Frog Man Dish, 1971

chestnut wood, 4.25 x 12.5 x 7.25 in (10.8 x 31.8 x 18.4 cm)
signed and dated, "John Livingston / 1971".

LOT 46
ESTIMATE: $2,500 — $3,500

Though non-Indigenous, John Livingston was closely associated with the Hunt family of Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw carvers, who formally adopted him in 2017. But his relationship with the family began decades earlier. In 1969, Livingston and Tony Hunt opened Arts of the Raven, a major hub for Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw art through the 1970s and 1980s. [1]

This well-carved dish, in the form of a Human/Frog hybrid, was created and sold from the Arts of the Raven gallery early in its operation. The wood used in this dish has its own interesting story and was a gift from Henry Hunt (see Lot 145) after a chestnut tree was removed from his yard for road widening. The honey-coloured patina and hardness of the chestnut are similar in appearance and feel to those of alder, which makes the sharp, clean lines of the dish possible.

1. John Livingston biography. UBC Museum of Anthropology. https://www.rrncommunity.org/people/3577. Accessed 13 October 2026.

CWS

Provenance

Arts of the Raven, Victoria, B.C.;

Acquired from the above by a Private Collection, accompanied by a copy of the original receipt, 16 June 1971;

Uno Langmann Limited Fine Arts, Vancouver, B.C.;

Acquired from the above by the present Private Collection, Toronto, 8 August 2006, accompanied by a copy of the original receipt.

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