As discussed in Lots 1 and 2, Glen Rabena is a non-Indigenous artist who was adopted into the Eagle Clan by Haida artist and Chief Claude Davidson in 1987, after several years of working alongside Claude’s sons, Robert and Reg Davidson.[1] Before his collaboration with the Davidsons, Rabena studied at the Kitanmax School of Northwest Coast Art at ‘Ksan during the 1970s. He is best known for his series of formline bird prints, as well as his finely carved alder masks, distinguished by their cherubic faces and precise formline designs.

This portrait mask is a contemporary twist on historic examples of Haida and Tlingit medicine person masks, identifiable from the heavily lidded eyes, rolled back pupils, and lolling mouth. The large labret with inlaid abalone in the figure’s lip indicates that this mask depicts a woman. Her nose is pierced with a double-ended antler spike, and she is wearing beaded dentalium shell earrings. The forehead of the mask features a red and green formline design that may depict a bird, and the top edge of the mask has long red and brown hair pegged into it.

1. Glen Rabena biography. https://www.glenrabena.com/gallery/bio/. Accessed 25 April 2025.

—Christopher W. Smith