This auction is subject to Waddington’s Conditions of Sale. Photography & design by Waddington’s. All rights reserved.
front cover
Lot 101
Norval Morrisseau
Young Shaman With Powers, 1978 (detail)
front inside cover
Lot 102
Alex Janvier
Who Will Listen, 1980 (detail)
opposite Lot 122
Allan Weir
Wolf Helmet, ca. 2010
back inside cover
Lot 104
Daphne Odjig
The Indian and the Tall Fair Lady, 1971 (detail)
back cover
Lot 113
Dempsey Bob Young Woman With Labret Mask, 1973
tNORVAL
MORRISSEAU
Well known to both scholars and collectors of Norval Morrisseau, Young Shaman With Powers was chosen for the cover of Maclean’s magazine in 1979, representing the Woodlands movement and the revolutionary vision of Norval Morrisseau.1
An artist at the height of his talents in 1978, Morrisseau had only just completed his iconic six-panel polyptych Man Changing into Thunderbird the previous year. He went on to tackle two ambitious and monumental depictions of shamans in 1978, Shaman with Healing Powers, and the larger Young Shaman With Powers, which depicts a shaman accompanied by the artist’s namesake Thunderbird.2 Both works were characterized by their exceptional compositional strength and use of luminous colour. The imagery in the painting was explained by Morrisseau’s dealer Jack Pollock:
The young Shaman embraces the Thunderbird, holding the sacred pouch which contains the herbs and other ceremonial artifacts required for the performance of his initiation rites.2
Young Shaman With Powers was sold by Pollock Gallery in 1978 or early 1979 at a cost of thirty-five thousand dollars, a staggering sum at a time when Morrisseau would often gift works, or trade them in exchange for materials of sometimes nominal value.3
The painting was subsequently published in Lister Sinclair and Jack Pollock’s seminal 1979 monograph, The Art of Norval Morrisseau. Acquired by collector Louis Charles prior to the publication, the work has since been sold on to one further collection, where it has remained until the present offering.
Waddington’s is pleased to present three of Norval Morrisseau’s unique visions of shamans in this auction, each investigating a facet of a subject to which Morrisseau returned to throughout his career.
1 Christopher Hume, “The New Age of Indian Art,” Maclean’s, 22 January 1979, 21-28.
2 Lister Sinclair and Jack Pollock, The Art of Norval Morrisseau (Toronto: Methuen Publications, 1979), 147.
3 The author’s personal correspondence with the family of Jack Pollock, Toronto, ON. 2022.
101
NORVAL MORRISSEAU, CM, RCA (1932-2007), ANISHINAABE (OJIBWE) YOUNG SHAMAN WITH POWERS, 1978
acrylic on canvas, signed lower left; titled and dated to gallery label verso sight 84 x 51 in — 213.4 x 129.5 cm
PROVENANCE:
The Pollock Gallery Limited, Toronto, ON Collection of Louis Charles, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Windsor, ON
$100,000—150,000
VIEW LOT
102
ALEX JANVIER, CM, AOE, RCA, LLD (1935-2024), DENESULINE WHO WILL LISTEN, 1980 gouache on paper, signed lower right; titled to backing paper; Wallace Galleries label verso sheet 22.5 x 30 in — 57.2 x 76.2 cm
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Alberta
EXHIBITED:
Janvier’s Classics, Wallace Galleries, Calgary, AB, Feb 1992
$8,000—12,000
A special thank you to Janvier Gallery for their assistance confirming the title and date of this lot.
VIEW LOT
ALEX JANVIER, CM, AOE, RCA, LLD (1935-2024), DENESULINE
ACROSS THE BAY YARD LIGHT, 1978
acrylic on canvas, signed lower left
13 x 17 in — 33 x 43.2 cm
PROVENANCE:
West End Gallery, Calgary, AB, 1978
Private Collection, Alberta
EXHIBITED:
West End Gallery, Calgary, AB, 1978
$8,000—12,000
A special thank you to Janvier Gallery for their assistance confirming the title and date of this lot.
VIEW LOT
tDAPHNE ODJIG
In 1974, the same year that Daphne Odjig opened her Winnipeg gallery representing First Nations art, Odjig illustrated Dr. Herbert T. Schwarz’s “Tales from the Smokehouse”. Odjig created 14 paintings of graphic erotica for the publication to accompany First Nations tales documented by Dr. Schwarz.
Following a 2008 exhibition of her works at the Canadian Museum of History, Odjig commented on the erotically charged images: “People were shocked at the time, although things have changed now. The native community was the least shocked of all, though. We were brought up as children to accept these things. Sexual matters were part of life.”1
The present work illustrates a passage in the thirteenth story in the text, The Indian and the Tall Fair Lady, a story in which a handsome but naive young man has an erotic encounter with a dark skinned woman after series of mishaps and disappointments in one of the cities “of the white people of the land.”2
The present painting comes from the personal collection of Dr. Schwarz, and bears his collector’s notes verso.
1 Peter Goddard, “Family Feeling”, Toronto Star, 18 September 2002.
2 Herbert T. Schwarz, Tales from the Smokehouse (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1976).
104
DAPHNE ODJIG, CM, OBC, RCA (1919-2016), NISHNAABE-NESHNABE (ODAWA-POTAWATOMI)
THE INDIAN AND THE TALL FAIR LADY, 1971
acrylic on board, signed and dated lower right; titled and inscribed verso “Collection of Herbert T. Schwarz M.D”
30 x 40.25 in — 76.2 x 102.2 cm
PROVENANCE:
Collection of Herbert T. Schwarz, Tuktoyaktuk, NWT
Private Collection, Ontario
$7,000—10,000
VIEW LOT
tNORVAL
MORRISSEAU
In Shaman and Apprentice, two figures—one crowned with a bird-like animal— are closely intertwined, and appear engaged in an apparent transfer of power. The figures’ tongues protrude from their mouths, resting in close proximity, a characteristic often associated with an exchange of otherworldly energy in historic Woodlands iconography.
Although known throughout his career as a gifted colourist, Morrisseau’s work in the late 1970s was becoming more vivid. Informed by traditions that acknowledge the capacity of material representations to effect spiritual interactions, the artist has explained his use of colour: “we can learn how to heal people with colour…My art reminds a lot of people of what they are…Many times people tell me that I’ve cured them of something, whatever’s ailing them…It was the colour of the painting that did that.”1
In the mid-1970s, Morrisseau had entered the mainstream. His first soldout exhibition at the Pollock Gallery was in 1962, over fifteen years before Shaman and Apprentice was painted. His work had by this time entered major institutional collections, including the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, The Glenbow Museum in Calgary, and the Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. Morrisseau would be awarded the Order of Canada the same year he painted Shaman and Apprentice—an artist at the height of his powers.
1 Norval Morrisseau, Travels to the House of Invention (Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1997), 16–17.
105
NORVAL MORRISSEAU, CM, RCA (1932-2007), ANISHINAABE (OJIBWE)
SHAMAN AND APPRENTICE, 1978
acrylic on canvas, signed lower left; titled and dated to gallery labels verso 52.25 x 38 in — 132.7 x 96.5 cm
PROVENANCE:
Acquired directly from the artist by The Pollock Gallery Ltd., Toronto, ON Kinsman Robinson Galleries, Toronto, ON Private Collection, Ontario
$20,000—30,000
VIEW LOT
106
ALLEN SAPP, OC, RCA (1929-2014), CREE
LATE FOR THE MEETING, CA. 1970
acrylic on canvas, signed lower right
24 x 36 in — 61 x 91.4 cm
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Alberta
$4,000—6,000
VIEW LOT
107
ALEX JANVIER, CM, AOE, RCA, LLD (1935-2024), DENESULINE WATERMELON, 2014
watercolour on paper, signed lower right; titled and dated verso 30 x 23 in — 76.2 x 58.4 cm
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Alberta
EXHIBITED: Alex Janvier, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, 25 Nov 2016-17 April 2017
$5,000—7,000
VIEW LOT
108
NORVAL MORRISSEAU, CM, RCA (1932-2007), ANISHINAABE (OJIBWE)
SHAMAN-THUNDERBIRD TRANSFORMATION, CA. 1964
acrylic on kraft paper, signed lower right; accompanied by a printed description of the work and its provenance from Cowley Abbott, Toronto, ON, in addition to a facsimile of a photograph showing the artwork hung in The Sportsman Lodge, Little Vermilion Lake, ON sight 32 x 24 in — 81.3 x 61 cm
PROVENANCE:
Acquired directly from the artist by The Sportsman Lodge, Little Vermilion Lake, ON, ca. 1964
By descent to Private Collection, British Columbia
Cowley Abbott, Toronto, ON, lot 72, 9 June 2021
Private Collection, Alberta
$10,000—15,000
VIEW LOT
109
NORVAL MORRISSEAU, CM, RCA (1932-2007), ANISHINAABE (OJIBWE)
THE ART OF NORVAL MORRISSEAU, 1979
five colour screenprints and gallery edition book, complete portfolio including The Dawn, Shaman Conjouring Speech, Composition with Loon, Young Gulls Watching, and Shaman and Apprentice; each signed and numbered 160/350; accompanied with the calfskin bound book The Art of Norval Morrisseau by Lister Sinclair and Jack Pollock, Toronto/New York: Methuen, 1979; housed in the original wood and linen case with calfskin straps; accompanied by original packaging each sheet 24 x 18 in — 61 x 45.7 cm
PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, Toronto, ON
$2,000—3,000
VIEW LOT
110
UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST
GI’KAML FIGURE HOLDING COPPER (WILD MAN OF THE WOODS), CA. 1990s wood, copper, horsehair, unsigned
52 x 19 x 16.5 in — 132.1 x 48.3 x 41.9 cm
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, British Columbia Private Collection, Quebec
$5,000—7,000 VIEW LOT
ROBERT CHARLES DAVIDSON
A classic Haida bracelet, the present work is designed and executed by master carver and goldsmith Robert Charles Davidson.
Elaborate adornment was commonplace among nobles on the Northern Northwest Coast at the time of the earliest contact with Europeans, however it was not until the 19th century that bracelets were made in silver, and later gold by Haida artists. The great Charles Edenshaw (Daax’igang) is often cited as the first Haida carver to work in these materials.1
The most well known and perhaps most highly regarded modern artists working in gold have been Bill Reid and Robert Davidson—both notably descendants of Edenshaw.
The present 22 karat gold bracelet depicts a humanoid figure who is connected by their tongue to an abstract animal—likely an orca. In the Haida tradition, the tongue is perceived as a vessel for the transfer of spiritual power or knowledge. The overall design exhibits a fluidity of form, and sense of balance within the narrow confines of the bracelet, a great achievement of artistic agility on the part of Robertson, who has boldly recorded the designs with confident precision.
Despite significant demand, Davidson is known for his relatively small production in gold, which primarily encompasses objects made for private, cultural, and gallery commissions. Waddington’s is pleased to offer two works in gold by Davidson in our Spring Major Auction, the present lot, and lot 112.
1 Dictionary of Canadian Biography, “Charles Edenshaw”, last modified 13 April 2026, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/edenshaw_charles_14E.html
ROBERT CHARLES DAVIDSON (GUUD SAN GLANS), OC, OBC, RCA (B. 1946), HAIDA BANGLE, 1991
22k gold, 28 grams, signed and dated
0.75 x 2.5 x 2.25 in — 1.9 x 6.4 x 5.7 cm
PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, Vancouver, BC
$25,000—35,000
VIEW LOT
ROBERT CHARLES DAVIDSON (GUUD SAN GLANS), OC, OBC, RCA (B. 1946), HAIDA PENDANT, 2004
22k gold, 16 grams, signed and dated dimensions without bail (hoop) 1.875 x 1.375 in — 4.8 x 3.5 cm
PROVENANCE: Eagle Spirit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
$7,000—9,000
VIEW LOT 112
tDEMPSEY BOB
Dempsey Bob is widely accepted as the leading carver of British Columbia’s Northwest Coast, and an elder spokesman of Tahltan and Tlingit mainland cultures.
In its 2022 retrospective Wolves: The Art of Dempsey Bob, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection said of his work:
Bob’s carvings blend traditional narratives and iconography with contemporary influences. His exposure to oral histories, songs, and dances from a young age has contributed to his understanding of art and its purpose within the community. Equal parts traditionalist and vanguard artist, Bob acknowledges the lineage to which he is indebted, yet he refuses nostalgia. Instead, he boldly reinterprets the traditional characters and iconography from the age-old stories of his people, at times inflecting those traditional tales with influences drawn from world art. Bob’s work urges a re-examination of humankind’s place in the natural world that is both timely and urgently needed.1
Bob, a sculptor of exceptionally light touch and a keen eye for clarity in form, produced the majority of his known work during his mature period, which focused on transformation imagery, making portrait masks such as the present circa 1973 example exceptionally uncommon. The mask depicts a young woman wearing a cedar bark braid, and abalone labret of the style commonly worn by high caste Northern Northwest Coast women in the early 19th century. Bob has carved the mask in hard alderwood, and skillfully pared back the form to a wafer-thinness.
Bob’s carvings are much sought after, and are rare on the secondary market. Waddington’s is pleased to offer Young Woman with Labret for the first time since its initial acquisition from the artist in 1973.
1 Wolves: The Art of Dempsey Bob, About the Exhibition, McMichael Collection of Canadian Art, accessed 17 April 2026, https://mcmichael.com/exhibition/wolves-the-art-of-dempsey-bob/
DEMPSEY BOB, OC (B. 1948), TAHLTAN, TLINGIT
YOUNG WOMAN WITH LABRET MASK, 1973 wood, horsehair, abalone, signed and titled verso
overall 17 x 8 x 3.75 in — 43.2 x 20.3 x 9.5 cm
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, New Mexico
$10,000—15,000 VIEW LOT
114
NORMAN TAIT (1941-2016), NISGA’A MOON MASK, 1992
wood, signed and dated verso
15.25 x 14 x 5.25 in — 38.7 x 35.6 x 13.3 cm
PROVENANCE:
The Inuit Gallery, Vancouver, BC, 29 Feb 1992
Private Estate, Toronto, ON
$2,500—3,500
VIEW LOT
t
BEAU DICK
Born in the community of Yalis (Alert Bay), British Columbia, Beau Dick, known as Walas Gwa’yam (‘Big Whale’), is widely acknowledged for his importance as both an artist and activist. His artworks have contributed to the ceremonial life of his community, and have expanded the popular conception of Northwest Coast art and imagery among collectors and fellow artists.
Many of Dick’s creations take on a haunting or otherworldly aspect, mediated by the artist’s integration of a colour palette and style incorporating imagery from Japanese and Western pop culture.
The present artwork is a unique and characterful depiction of a ghost-like Pookmis Spirit, a subject revisited by Dick in many variations over his career. Pookmis is variously called, Spirit of the Nearly Drowned, The Other Wild Man or The Destroyer, and Pukwu:bis by the Makah.1 Pookmis masks are part of an extended family of wild-man and wild-woman imagery that includes the cannibalistic Dzunukwa spirit, who is sometimes said to be the keeper of drowned souls, returning the souls of drowned whalers to their villages during their memorials.
The present work includes a length of twine suspending a cedar whistle, a characteristic found in other examples of Pookmis by Beau Dick. Whistles are closely associated on the Northwest Coast with the voices of spirits, and among the Tlingit are sometimes even called ye’k se (spirit’s voice).2
1 Christian Feest. “Transformations of a Mask: Confidential Intelligence from the Lifeway of Things.” Baessler-Archiv, Neue Folge, Band XLVI. 1998. https://cajs.no/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ Transformations_of_a_Mask_Confidential_I.pdf
2 George Thorton Emmons and Frederica de Laguna, The Tlingit Indians (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991), 454.
BEAU DICK (WALAS GWA’YAM) (1955-2017), KWAKWAKA’WAKW POOKMIS (SPIRIT OF THE DROWNED) MASK, CA. 1992 wood, shredded cedar bark, feathers, graphite, paint, inscribed “Beau Dick” on interior overall, including whistle 35.75 x 10 x 9.5 in — 90.8 x 25.4 x 24.1 cm; mask 14.5 x 8.5 x 8 in — 36.8 x 21.6 x 20.3 cm
PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, California
$10,000—15,000
VIEW LOT
BEAU DICK (WALAS GWA’YAM) (1955-2017), KWAKWAKA’WAKW ATLIKUM (WINTER CEREMONIAL) MASK, CA. 1990S wood, shredded cedar bark, paint, rubber, unsigned
overall 19.5 x 9.5 x 5 in — 49.5 x 24.1 x 12.7 cm; mask 8.75 x 6 x 4.5 in — 22.2 x 15.2 x 11.4 cm
PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, California
$8,000—10,000
VIEW LOT
DAVID ALBERT BOXLEY (B. 1952), TSIMSHIAN
FOUR EAGLES BENTWOOD BOX, 2017 wood, paint, signed, titled, and dated 19 x 13 x 13 in — 48.3 x 33 x 33 cm
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, British Columbia
$2,000—3,000
VIEW LOT
DAVID ALBERT BOXLEY (B. 1952), TSIMSHIAN CORNER-ORIENTED BENTWOOD BOX, 2000s wood, paint, signed and dated; inscribed “Beaver”
15.25 x 13 x 12.5 in — 38.7 x 33 x 31.8 cm
PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Cincinnati, OH
$2,000—3,000 VIEW LOT
119
DENNIS CLIFTON, TSIMSHIAN
THUNDERBIRD RATTLE, CA. 2000s wood, paint, twine, abalone, signed
9.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 in — 24.1 x 11.4 x 11.4 cm
PROVENANCE: Eagle Spirit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
$500—700 VIEW LOT
TERRY STARR (B. 1951), TSIMSHIAN EAGLE CHIEF’S GREASE SPOON, 2002
wood, paint, signed, titled, and dated
12 x 3.25 x 9 in — 30.5 x 8.3 x 22.9 cm
PROVENANCE:
Eagle Spirit Gallery, Vancouver, BC
$400—600
VIEW LOT
KLATLE-BHI (B. 1966), KWAKWAKA’WAKW
FIRST SUMMER MOON, CA. 2000
wood, paint, copper, cedar bark, signed and titled verso including cedar bark 31 x 24 x 7 in — 78.7 x 61 x 17.8 cm
