Freda Diesing was one of just a handful of First Nations women carving on the Northwest Coast in the 20th century. Along with artists such as Robert Davidson (b. 1946) and Bill Reid (1920-1998), Diesing was heavily involved in the 1960s and 1970s revival of interest in Haida and other Northwest Coast art. Diesing also attended, and later taught at, the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art at ‘Ksan in Hazelton, British Columbia. Diesing was a hugely influential teacher and many of her students today are regarded as master artists in their own right. In 2006, three of her former students: Dempsey Bob (Tlingit-Tahltan, b. 1948), Stan Bevan (Tahltan-Tlingit/Tsimshian, b. 1961), and Ken McNeil (b. 1961, Tlingit-Tahltan/Nisga’a), opened the Freda Diesing School of Northwest Coast Art in her honour.

This elegant portrait mask reflects Diesing’s mastery of knife techniques in creating a smooth and supple finish without sanding on the surface of the alder wood. The mask is sparingly painted in black and red with carved features whose proportions allude to Gitxsan and Tsimshian influences from Diesing’s time at ‘Ksan. The twisted cedar bark rope framing the mask draws your eye back to the center to meet the mask’s gaze, which emotes a serene and calming expression.

Christopher W. Smith

References: For examples of masks by Freda Diesing see First Arts, July 12, 2020, Lots 67- 69, and First Arts, 1 Dec. 2020, Lot 115. See also Peter Macnair et al, Down From the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast, (Seattle / Vancouver: Univ. of Washington Press, 1998), cat. 156; Daina Augaitis et al, Raven Travelling: Two Centuries of Haida Art, (Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery / Douglas & McIntyre, 2006), cat. 26 (ROM Collection); and Peter Macnair et al, The Legacy: Continuing Traditions of Canadian Northwest Coast Indian Art, (Victoria: BC Provincial Museum, 1980), fig. 71. Robin K. Wright’s Northern Haida Master Carvers, (Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press, 2001) discusses Diesing’s work and illustrates a portrait mask, print, and totem pole, pp. 323-326. See also Mary Anne Barbara Slade, Skilquewat: on the trail of Property Woman: the life story of Freda Diesing, PhD Dissertation, University of British Columbia, 2002.