So much of Bill Holm’s involvement in Northwest Coast and specifically Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw culture is embodied in this painting, that it’s difficult to know where to begin. The dance itself, part of the Dloogwala, or supernatural origins series, is a privilege given to Holm and his wife, Marty, by cultural leader Mungo Martin of the Fort Rupert band of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw in the late 50’s/early 60’s, in recognition of Holm’s interest in and enthusiasm for Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw traditions.

The painting depicts an appropriately garbed female dancer in performance within the suggestion of a traditional Bighouse, the wallboards and attentive audience of which are seen beyond the blaze of firelight in the center of the room. The dancer’s garb, referred to as a button robe (or blanket) in English, is in the common design of a dark blue rectangular Hudson’s Bay wool blanket that is trimmed with a border of red wool, festooned with reflective commercial mother-of-pearl buttons in two sizes arranged in a geometric pattern. At the neck of the dancer, the red border is interrupted with a narrow patch of cloth in a simple print, a sacrificial piece that prevents undue wear on the more highly valued red wool. Within the border, the image of a stylized tree is represented in red wool with a perimeter of buttons outlining the branches and roots of the tree.

The dancer is representative of a small group of related females that move about the Bighouse in time with the rhythm and story of the song, which is inherited along with the privilege itself. The dancer’s thumbs are held upward from clenched fists in traditional fashion for this dance, and are bobbed subtly up and down with the rhythm of the performance.

The wooden head and body of a wolf are connected by separate pieces. The head of the wolf is worn as a forehead mask, not straight ahead, but at a slight upward angle. This facilitates the wolf looking from side to side with the dancer’s movements. The wolf’s head and body are in the style of Willie Seaweed, a carver much admired by Holm for his beautifully integrated designs. The wolf’s ears are separate pieces, and a short cape-like piece of cloth covers the space between the wolf’s head and body. The body and legs of the wolf cascade down the dancer’s back. The body is one piece, and the four separate legs and feet are fastened in such a way that they move gently with the dance.

Steven C. Brown

The Wolf Mask in this 1977 painting is a particular mask by Willie Seaweed that Holm greatly admired. In his seminal book Smoky-Top: The Art and Times of Willie Seaweed (1983), which accompanies this lot, Holm notes that this mask was created specifically for the daughter of Tom Patch Wamiss (probably Elsie Wamiss Williams, 1934-1993) and was “the most elaborate [Seaweed wolf mask] ever conceived” (p. 155). Holm goes on to say that “The head of the wolf is typical of Seaweed masks in every way, but there the resemblance ends. Attached to the dancer’s back, so that it is a continuation of the wolf’s head, is the complete body of the wolf, with loosely attached legs and a tail turned upward to lie along the creature’s back” (p. 155). Holm considered the mask to be groundbreaking and influential, stating that “At least three copies of the wolf mask have been made… There may be more like it made in the future. It was innovative and effective, and Kwakwakaʼwakw artists have never been reluctant to adopt dramatic ideas” (p. 155).

In all, Holm published the Wolf Mask in three locations in Smoky-Top: pages 31, 155, and 156. The photo on page 156 is of a woman, probably Elsie Wamiss Williams, wearing the Wolf Mask in 1962. The photo reflects a similar angle and perspective to that of the woman in the 1977 painting, and the resemblance between the two women is striking. As the painting was made in 1977, six years before the publication of Smoky-Top in 1983, it’s clear that this Wolf Mask was of special interest to Holm and that this painting could be understood in the context of Holm’s research process leading up to the book.

CWS