Masset, Q.C.I., painted in 1912 by renowned Canadian artist Emily Carr, in an undated handout reproduction. The piece, which was sold at auction in Toronto Wednesday, was recovered from a barn in New York state. It depicts an Indigenous memorial post that stood in Masset, a village in B.C.'s Haida Gwaii archipelago. (Heffel Fine Art Auction House/The Canadian Press)
A couple of months ago we heard about the discovery of a painting at a barn sale in New York State by an art dealer. He didn't recognize the name Emily Carr but he sensed that this work would be a worthwhile buy at $50 US. Yesterday the painting realized $349,250 Cdn at a Toronto auction, not a bad return for having a keen eye.
The painting depicts what was a familiar subject for Carr, a totem pole from the British Columbia northwest Pacific coast. In this instance it was from Haida Gwaii, the group of island we visited in June of this year. We spent several days in and around Masset, now a thriving centre for the revived art of Haida carving, including totem poles. The QCI of the title refers to the Queen Charlotte Islands, the colonial name for Haida Gwaii. They were "named" for a British ship, not the queen herself.
Emily Carr, Skedans, 1912. Oil on canvas, 89.5 x 148 cm. Photo: Sotheby's.
While we were there we also ventured southward to Skedans, a traditional and long-abandoned village in Gwaii Haanas National Park, accessible by boat. At this site there are the decaying remains of several totem poles, including one depicted by Emily Carr. They are returning to the earth from which they came, as is the tradition.
Our young, enthusiastic, and, well, sketchily-informed Haida guide condemned Carr as an intrusive settler who cold-heartedly ignored the plight of Haida communities decimated by smallpox. Yes, she was the product of a colonial society but she was committed to portraying a culture for which she had great respect. Even though she was a Christian she had a sense of the spiritual connection of Indigenous peoples in that region to the forests and the sea. At a time when missionaries were instructing Haida people to burn their totem poles as graven images she was memorializing them in her paintings.
Emily Carr is often connected to the Group of Seven artists who respected her talent yet didn't invited her into their all-male club. And for all their brilliance in painting the Canadian wilderness they seldom included the First Peoples of the different regions they visited in their works.
We have talked about our trip to Haida Gwaii many times since our return. We are deeply grateful that we got there after two cancelled attempts due to the COVID pandemic. It was a spiritual experience in so many ways, including the opportunity to witness the remarkable revival of Haida culture. We were even there on National Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day, the Summer Solstice, although we hadn't considered that this would be the case.
Skidegate
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