Surely one of the largest of James’ model totems that has survived, this model stands five and a quarter feet tall, a monument among models. It includes a man and whale image related to the one on the smaller James pole in this collection (see Lot 78), but here the whale has been elaborated with added pectoral and dorsal fins that expand its presence beyond the outer limits of the other figures, and there’s a greater level of painted elaboration throughout.

James was a bold pioneer in color use and figure composition, sometimes using green, orange or yellow in addition to the traditional black, red and blue-green. He innovated new combinations and arrangements of figures that were unique in his time and which influenced every succeeding generation of artists in the Kwakwaka'wakw style, from Mungo Martin to Henry Hunt and beyond, limbs of the James family tree. James nearly always signed his work, which no historical artists and few of his contemporaries chose to emulate.

James often did not carve the details of his model totem figures, electing to paint them alone, though his full-sized poles and figures were defined with full sculpture and carved lines. He carved full-sized poles that stood in traditional places; houseposts, exterior poles, grave markers. He also carved them for untraditional locations in public buildings and private homes, always to a full measure of sculpture and detail, fitting as much into the given space as possible. His finish adzework was impeccable in his best years, though an old injury limited him to one good arm, the other not visible in photographs of him and his work. Nonetheless his personal energy must have been inexhaustible, and the legacy of his life’s work exceeds the output of most if not all other Native artists of his time.

Steven C. Brown