First Nations

Moving along, I carried on with this walk among items of First Nations people inside the Museum of History.

Raven Bringing Light To The World is the title of this gold and bronze sculpture by the Haida artist Robert Davidson, done in 1985-86. 

Norval Morrisseau was one of the great Canadian artists, of Anishinaabe background. This painting, done over time between 1979-84, is titled A Separate Reality, and reflects cultural motifs and beliefs.

This area examines First Nations peoples in detail in terms of artifacts and attire, with a rich difference between peoples of either coast, the plains, the boreal forests, or the far north.

This, for instance, dates to 1989 by the Haida artist Dorothy Grant. Copper Dress With Hummingbird Panels is its title, and incorporates wool, cashmere, and beads.

Four paintings hang together in this vertical space, painted between 1978 and 1981 by Alex Janvier in his signature abstract style, collectively called The Seasons. From top to bottom they are Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The set was commissioned by the museum at the time.

A short walk away in a similar space are two items. Nishga Girl is the name of this fishing boat. It finds its roots in two friends who'd met in the 1930s- the Japanese-Canadian Judo "Jack" Tasaka and the Nisga'a chief Eli Gosnell, men who'd bonded over a mutual appreciation of fishing and boat building. Gosnell's family commissioned Tasaka in 1967 to build a boat, and this is it. The large painting in the background is an untitled mural done for the British American Oil Company Ltd. in 1957 by Thor Hansen and Umberto Bruni. It has been in the museum's collection since 2008, and hangs here. 

Two more looks at Janvier's Morning Star, in this case photographed from the top level before I headed into the Canadian History Hall, which we'll start looking at tomorrow.