Signed Don Lelooska Smith Painting - Lefty Wilder, 1949

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Pre-Columbian / Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Jan 24, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-01-24 10:00:00 2019-01-24 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Pre-Columbian / Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/pre-columbian-ethnographic-art-3814
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• Lot Description
  Lelooska (Don Smith) (Native American, Pacific Northwest, 1933-1996), "Portrait of Lefty Wilder", 1949. Signed and dated by the artist on the lower right. A beautiful lifelike painting on cloth depicting Warren Wayland Wilder, Sr., better known as Lefty Wild Eagle, created by Lelooska, one of a handful of artists credited with creating a renaissance of Northwest Coastal art in the second half of the twentieth century. Wilder is depicted here facing front and finely dressed in an elaborate headdress and garment. The painting takes advantage of negative space, with black lines of varying thickness creating the magnificent feathered headdress and decorated clothing against the unpainted cloth. Only his face has color, with shaded dark brown pigment creating the impression of the shadow of the headdress partially concealing his eyes and one cheek. Size of portrait: 11.5" W x 13.25" H (29.2 cm x 33.7 cm); size of frame: 13.15" W x 16" H (33.4 cm x 40.6 cm)
  
  In addition to being a hugely celebrated artist and storyteller, Lelooska had a keen interest in studying many different aspects of Native American culture, especially those linked to the Pacific Northwest, including speaking several Native American languages. In 1977 he created the Lelooska Foundation, which, along with the advice of chiefs and tribal elders, allowed him to create a living history program that continues to this day. Lelooska was born of Cherokee heritage, and was adopted in adulthood by the Kwakiutl Sewid clan (Kwakwaka'wakw). His peak years of fame and artistic output were from the 1970s to the early 1990s, and his shows attracted as many as 30,000 people per year.
  
  Wilder was an athlete, museum owner, and artist in his own right. Despite losing most of one arm in a shooting accident as a young teen (noticeable here in the portrayal of the shoulders), he went on to play football well enough at the Chemawa Indian School to gain national attention. Late in life, he appeared in the movie "Sacred Ground" (1963).
  
  Provenance: private Newport Beach, California, USA collection
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
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  #133425

  Condition

  Piece has not been examined outside the frame. Small areas of fraying on the edges and cloth has slightly darkened with age. Signed and dated by the artist on the lower right.
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