Jimmy John was a prolific and widely collected Northwest Coast artist for the better part of the 20th century. In the course of his long art career, John created masks and headdresses for ceremony, silver jewelry, and monumental and model totem poles. Beginning in the early 20th century, John created highly sculptural and brightly painted model poles. As he advanced in age and his ability to carve and paint changed, John developed a unique “chip-style” carving method that allowed him to continue making interesting model poles and masks. The chip marks on these mid-20th century pieces resembled the carving texture left by elbow adzes on full-sized poles and utilized a limited palette of black and red paints. This pole from 1950 is a good, early example of this style.

This substantial model pole features, from top: a Thunderbird with spread wings, a human figure holding a copper, and a low relief-carved eagle that wraps around the cylindrical pole. There are painted, red and black ovoids, carved and painted u-forms, and crescent shapes created with a sculpting tool throughout the composition. The pole is mounted on a round alder base and features an old sticker with “Carved in BC” handwritten on it.