JOHN CROSS (1867-1939) SKIDEGATE, HAIDA GWAII

Model Totem Pole,1910-20

argillite, 7.5 x 2.25 x 2 in (19.1 x 5.7 x 5.1 cm)

unsigned.

Provenance

A Vancouver Collection.

John Cross was undoubtedly one of the best argillite carvers of his generation, but he did not pursue his art full-time. As Marius Barbeau discovered, Cross greatly enjoyed fishing and boat-building as well. Cross had also been an expert tattooer back in the 1870s, and was thus skilled as an artist in both two and three dimensions. This model pole is relatively compact, with really interesting imagery. The figures featured (from the top) appear to be: either a transforming raven holding his broken beak in his hands, or a beaver holding a raven’s beak; and a bear holding a large descending frog.

Literature: Marius Barbeau discusses John Cross’s life and work in some detail in his book Haida Carvers in Argillite (Ottawa: National Museum of Man, 1957/1974), pp. 123-129. For examples of argillite poles by John Cross see Michael D. Hall and Pat Glascock, Carvings and Commerce: Model Totem Poles 1880-2010 (Saskatoon: Mendel Art Gallery / Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press, 2011), cats. 63 65. See Leslie Drew and Douglas Wilson, Argillite: Art of the Haida (Vancouver: Hancock House, 1980), p. 251; Walker’s Auctions, Ottawa, Nov. 2015, Lot 165. See also Steven C. Brown, Native Visions: Evolution in Northwest Coast Art from the Eighteenth through the Twentieth Century (Seattle: Seattle Art Museum / Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1998), p. 143.