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Artworks
ALFRED WESLEY (1865-1933) HAISLA (KITAMAAT)
Model Totem Pole, c. 1920swood and paint, 20.75 x 2.75 x 3.25 in (52.7 x 7 x 8.3 cm)
unsigned.LOT 110
ESTIMATE: $3,000 — $5,000Further images
Alfred Wesley was a maker of complex model poles who combined visual elements from Haisla and Haida traditions. Wesley was married to a Haida woman and lived in Haida Gwaii...Alfred Wesley was a maker of complex model poles who combined visual elements from Haisla and Haida traditions. Wesley was married to a Haida woman and lived in Haida Gwaii for a year, where he apparently learned to carve, before returning to Kitamaat, BC [1]. Wesley has become an influential historic artist for contemporary Haisla carvers such as Henry Robertson (1934-2016) and Lyle Wilson (1955-). This pole depicts an inverse dogfish or shark with its body and multiple fins rising up to a Raven figure resting on its caudal fin. Human faces appear on the caudal and dorsal fins of the shark.
Sarah Raven and Christopher W. Smith
1. See the UBC Museum of Anthropology biography for Alfred Wesley. https://www.rrncommunity.org/people/326. Accessed 01 April 2025.Provenance
A Vancouver Collection.
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