Name/Title
Housepost (Kwakiutl)Entry/Object ID
2018.03.01Description
Painting
This colourful image depicts a carved and painted Kwatkiutl housepost. The Kwakiutl are First Nations people of the Pacific Northwest Coast known for their woodcarving arts. Their traditional territory is on northern Vancouver Island, nearby islands and the adjacent mainland. Today, the name Kwakiutl only refers to those from the village of Fort Rupert. Previously, it was a term that applied to all the Kwakwaka'wakw—that is, all of the people who speak the language Kwak’wala from a much larger geographic area.
Depicted at the top of this pole may be the supernatural bird Ko'lus with his claws grasping the head of the figure below. Ko'lus is a young Thunderbird who is connected to the dead as a messenger and transformational figure able to take human form by removing a robe of white feathers. A highly respected symbol, Ko'lus is known as a powerful protector spirit.Artwork Details
Medium
Watercolour on paperSubject Place
Region
Pacific NorthwestContinent
North AmericaContext
The word 'totem' comes from Ojibwa, an Algonquian language spoken by First Nations around Lake Superior, for the word 'odoodem' or 'ototeman'. Specifically, totem refers to an emblematic depiction of an animal, plant or being that gives a family or clan its name and serves as a reminder of its ancestry.
The original totem poles were created by six First Nations of the Pacific Northwest: the Haida, the Nuxalt, the Kwakwaka'wakw, the Tlingit, the Tsimshian and the Coast Salish. These totem poles are carved and painted monumental poles (or posts or pillars) that feature different symbols or figures (birds, frogs, bears, people, supernatural beings and sea creatures). There are seven types of poles (memorials, grave markers, house posts, portal house poles, welcoming poles, mortuary poles and ridicule or shame poles). Similar to other forms of heraldry, they may function as crests of families or chiefs, recount stories owned by those families or chiefs, commemorate special occasions and more. The poles are usually made from large trees, mostly western red cedar, and their stories are usually read from the bottom of the pole to the top.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Mary E. Cameron (1915-2009)Role
PainterDate made
1976Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, Mary E. Cameron (née Botchett) was a Canadian artist who appears to have worked mainly in watercolour. She completed her schooling in Winnipeg, and was then employed at Stovel Printing Co., the largest and oldest commercial printing firm in the city, also considered the most progressive. She moved to Vancouver with her husband in 1947 where she continued work in the printing business at Grant-Mann Lithographers Ltd. until her retirement.
Cameron exhibited her artwork in four of the B.C. annual Artists Exhibitions plus the Stanley Park Exhibition all held at the Vancouver Art Gallery, the last being the 19th Annual Exhibition in 1950 chaired by Canadian Group of Seven artist Lawren Harris (1885-1970). Her work, identified to date, carefully documents totems, buildings and villages of the Northwest Coast and First Nations people, such as the Haida and Kwakiutl on Vancouver Island, nearby islands and the adjacent mainland.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
SignatureLocation
Signed in image vertical lower right: M CAMERONTranscription
Verso: M. CAMERONDimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageHeight
16.2 cmWidth
7.6 cmRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
By Mary E. Cameron:
2018.03.01 Housepost (Kwakiutl)
2018.03.02 Haida Bear Totem Pole
2018.03.03 Totem Pole
2018.03.04 Beaver Harbour Village, Fort Rupert
2018.03.05 Sketch of Totem Pole
2018.03.06 Kwakiutl Village, about 1941
