Human

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions.

In oral traditions across the Northwest Coast there are many human heroes and legends. These figures are depicted in many ways. Some figures might represent a chief or shaman, while others an ancestor. Ancestors are incredibly important in Northwest Coast culture; thus, you will often see human portraits in the artwork depicting an ancestor figure.

Freestanding Human figures can range in size from small amulets to large-scale poles several feet high. As amulets, they are often a guardian symbol whereas the larger human figures can represent a welcoming figure. Human-like personifications of the sun and wind are common in Northwest Coast artwork as well.
39 items

Frog Transformation Mask
William (Bill) Kuhnley (Nuu-chah-nulth)

2000 Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals tha...

2000 Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions. Frog is...

$8,000.00

Eagle Transformation Bracelet
Alvin Adkins (Haida)

49 grams Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals...

49 grams Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions. Eag...

$14,000.00

In Her Words
Margaret August (Salish)

AP Edition /20 Available Framed for $645 CAD. Please contact the gallery directly. This design wa...

AP Edition /20 Available Framed for $645 CAD. Please contact the gallery directly. This design was inspired by the 2021 BC Women’s Health Report which Artist Margaret August had the great pleasure in submitting their art for. In fact, the “In Her Words” design was on the cover of this report. This was a health report for and carried out by Indigenous Women. The report speaks to Indigenous Women’s experiences in BC’s health care system which includes the experiences during COVID19. Margaret’s ...

$245.00

Portrait Mask
Tim Paul (Nuu-chah-nulth)

$1,400.00

Child Design
Sharon Hitchcock (Haida)

1975 Edition 214/369 Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures...

1975 Edition 214/369 Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descr...

$300.00

Thunderbird and Human Spirit Pendant
Ron Russ (Haida)

1997 Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals tha...

1997 Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions. Thunder...

$1,400.00

Kwakiutl Portrait Mask
Tony Gulbrandsen (Tsimshian)

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are...

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions. Humans appea...

$900.00

Killer Whale Transforming Into Human Panel
Phil Gray (Tsimshian)

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are...

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions.Killer Whale ...

$18,000.00

"The Artist"
Joe David (Nuu-chah-nulth)

A tribute to Art Thompson 

A tribute to Art Thompson 

$7,000.00

Happy Blowhole
Robert Davidson (Haida)

1992 Edition 12/12

1992 Edition 12/12

$25,000.00

Communication Panel
Don Yeomans (Haida)

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are...

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions.

$65,000.00

“Ḵ’aay.yas Gan Unsid” (Elders’ Knowledge)
Cori Savard (Haida)

Edition /150 Available Framed for $800 CAD. Please contact the gallery directly.   “Where does ou...

Edition /150 Available Framed for $800 CAD. Please contact the gallery directly.   “Where does our knowledge come from? To whom are we accountable for its survival? As we continue the work of reclaiming our culture, we honour the Ancestors’ teachings. We honour the Elders who carry this knowledge forward for us. We honour the children who will one day take up this work. From time immemorial we have accepted this responsibility. Our potential is illimitable when we listen to, and learn from on...

$300.00

Diving into the First Plumage Paddle
Travis Peal (Nisga'a)

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are...

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions. Eagle is an ...

$2,000.00

Canoe Mask
Art Thompson (Nuu-chah-nulth)

1992

1992

$16,000.00

"The Initiate"
Joe David (Nuu-chah-nulth)

2006

2006

$8,500.00

Chief Mask
Godfrey Hunt (Kwakwaka'wakw)

$1,800.00

Drifted Ashore House
Klatle-Bhi (Kwakwaka'wakw)

Drifted Ashore House is the name of a Tlingit clan from Tongass, Alaska and speaks to Klatle-bhi’...

Drifted Ashore House is the name of a Tlingit clan from Tongass, Alaska and speaks to Klatle-bhi’s family lineage. It was a Tlingit woman from this clan that married a Kwakiutl man, and was lineage to the Hunt family of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation; the lineage of Klatle-bhi’s family. The panel is a representation of the long history he has to the Tlingit people, and this clan in particular, with the two faces on the panel meant to represent the male and female ancestors and balance of that line....

$55,000.00

"Bella Coola Face" Mask
Joe Peters Jr. (Kwakwaka'wakw)

1984 Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals tha...

1984 Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions.Humans a...

$2,200.00

Portrait Rattle
Glen Edwards (Salish)

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are...

Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral histories and artist descriptions. Humans appea...

$700.00

Salish Wolf Spirit House Post
Floyd Joseph "Tyee" (Salish)

In 1990, a Vancouver gallery hosted a solo catalogued exhibition titled Tyee for Coast Salish art...

In 1990, a Vancouver gallery hosted a solo catalogued exhibition titled Tyee for Coast Salish artist Floyd Joseph. This exhibition highlighted the unique style of this artist, with bold colours and contemporary interpretations of a wide range of subjects by a modern artist. Floyd Joseph was born in Capilano, North Vancouver, in 1951 and he is a hereditary chief for the Squamish Nation and a full-time artist. The design is based on classic Salish houseposts and depicts a wolf and female form. ...

$18,000.00

Killer Whale Rattle
Ken McNeil (Tahltan)

Dimensions with base: 10 ¾" H x 4" W x 7" D   Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast o...

Dimensions with base: 10 ¾" H x 4" W x 7" D   Indigenous artwork on the Pacific Northwest Coast often incorporates figures and animals that are related to crest symbols. Crests have been passed down through families and have varying meanings depending on the context and association with a nation, clan, or family. The figures depicted in contemporary Northwest Coast Indigenous artwork also have varying meanings but there are some common characteristics from a range of sources, including oral h...

$8,000.00

Helping Hands
Ses Saunders (Nuxalk)

Edition /60 Available Framed for $800 CAD. Please contact the gallery directly.

Edition /60 Available Framed for $800 CAD. Please contact the gallery directly.

$450.00