Astounding BC Native Indian Art Collection!
Paul Allison
This historic collection of original paintings by Native artists of
British Columbia's Kwak waka'wakw peoples, with its artistic beauty
and ethnographic importance is now available to museums, galleries and
private collectors. All prices are shown in US dollars. Painting sizes
are approximately 42 cms X 35 cms and 35 cms X 28 cms.
The story of this collection from its beginning in 1957 when an
immigrant Hungarian art dealer named Gyula Mayer recognized the talent
of the British Columbia Kwagiutl Indians and distributed paper, paint
and brushes to the coastal Indian communities, to the loss of a
substantial part of the collection which lay unattended yet unharmed
for many years gathering dust in the basement of the Canadian Pacific
Railway depot in Vancouver, to its rediscovery and authentication has
"all the impact of an archaeological discovery."
The Citizen, Edmonton
All the pieces in The Kwagiutl Collection were painted between 1958
and 1964 and until first exhibited in 1986 the Collection remained
virtually unknown to the art world and anthropologist alike. Indeed,
it could be said that it is the "missing link" between the infrequent
paintings of the great Mungo Martin and the rush of contemporary
Indian paintings and prints that found popularity in the early 1970’s.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about The Kwagiutl Collection is
that the artists had little if any formal training. What you see in
the exhibit is mostly self taught. Mayer’s invitation to paint
released a torrent of talent and energy that even the most
sophisticated and knowledgeable could not have anticipated. European
civilization, imposed on the Kwagiutl people, had not been able to
diminish a gift of the centuries. But words are trite along side these
treasures. You must see them for yourself.
The owners of The Kwagiutl Collection are grateful to anthropologist
Karen Duffek for her dedicated commitment to the authentication of the
Collection and her cataloguing research project. The historical and
biographical sections of this site are taken from her work.
http://www.bcnativeindianart.com
Thanks,
Paul Allison