Name/Title
Coast Salish Man in a Red BlanketEntry/Object ID
2022.04.09Description
Painting
This left side-view portrait depicts a pensive and dignified elderly Coast Salish First Nations man of the Pacific Northwest Coast. It is a head and shoulders view and the man is wrapped in a rich red blanket. He has a longer head shape suggesting a cranial deformation produced by a cradleboard. While the deformation can be purposeful or accidental, it was a common practice among Pacific Northwest Coast peoples as a means to mark aristocracy and elite status. The identity of the sitter is unknown.Artwork Details
Medium
Watercolour on paperSubject Place
Region
Pacific NorthwestContinent
North AmericaContext
Margaret Maclure is known to have invited First Nations people into her home for portrait sessions and it is reported that she also occasionally traveled to do portrait work. Her husband's family farm was at Matsqui Prairie*, near Abbotsford, B.C. and First Nations would have been the majority population. The entire Maclure family reportedly spoke a Chinookian language, or perhaps the Chinook trade language that originated in the Pacific Northwest. The Maclures may also have understood the local Salish dialect.
*Matsqui Prairie refers to the floodplain surrounding the historic Matsqui Village formerly part of the District Municipality of Matsqui in what is now the City of Abbotsford. The Matsqui people, who are part of the Stó꞉lō group historically known as the Fraser River Salish, remain resident in the area to the west of Matsqui Village.
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This painting may have been done from a photograph, possibly from one of Ben William Leeson's (1866-1948) images. An entrepreneur and photographer, Leeson photographed First Nations people, industry and the natural surroundings in B.C., mostly the Cariboo and northwest Vancouver Island starting in the later 19th century. Leeson is particularly noted for his timeless and moving portraits of Pacific Northwest Coast peoples.Made/Created
Artist
Margaret Catherine Maclure (1869-1938)Date made
circa 1900Time Period
19th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in Greenock, Scotland, Margaret Catherine (Daisy) Maclure came to British Columbia in the late 1900s. She was a skilled portrait artist, and working in watercolour, she painted in both a traditional and oriental style. Her subjects included portrait and genre painting. Also an accomplished and recognized pianist, she married the well-known B.C. architect and painter, Samuel Maclure. A strong-willed woman, a decade younger than Samuel, she was not deterred by the refusal of her Victoria family to approve her marriage. The couple eloped to Vancouver to marry at the home of Samuel's sister, honeymooning afterwards at the Maclure family farm in Matsqui Prairie.
Later settling in Victoria, the couple were very active in the arts community and were founding members of the Island Arts Club in 1909. The club's stated purpose was "to bring together artists and those interested in art; to hold public exhibitions of art and craft work; and to stimulate general interest in arts and crafts". It was renamed the Island Arts and Crafts Society in 1912, later the Sketch Club and continues on today as the Victoria Sketch Club.
The Maclures had three children; however, Margaret Maclure continued her artistic work exhibiting with the Society for over thirty years from 1913 to 1936. Her paintings are found in some public institutions, but most are held privately.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
SignatureLocation
Signed lower left: vertical monogram - M•C•M•Transcription
Verso frame backing -
Black stencil: S 9 4 X G
Pasted paper label with orange border, pre-printed:
O.M. Dept. / No. 736 / Prints 4
Cutout showing typed inscription covered in plastic, typed in black ink:
Presented to Mrs. Wilkinson by R.E. Gosnell, Esq. / August 1905
and typed inscription verso on paper mounted on light-weight card:
Presented to Mrs. Wilkinson by R.E. Gosnell, Esq.
August 1905.
Note: R. Edward Gosnell (1860-1931) was British Columbia's first Legislative Librarian and Provincial Archivist.Dimensions
Dimension Description
SupportHeight
26 cmWidth
21 cmAcquisition
Acquisition Method
PurchaseDate
Apr 26, 2022Notes
Lunds Lot # 7. Purchased with 2022.04.08 First Nations Woman in HatRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
By Margaret Catherine Maclure:
2022.04.08 Coast Salish Woman Wearing a Hat
2022.04.09 Coast Salish Man in a Red Blanket
2025.05.01 Man in BlanketCopyright
Notes
Images are provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from the copyright holder. It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to determine the copyright holder and to obtain permission(s) as needed.
![Kwakiutl woman, Ne-kow-se-sla, and grandson, 190?. Inscription: Youth & Beauty Van. Is: Natives [Quatsino Sound, B.C.] Copyright by Ben William Leeson [1866-1948]: From Vancouver Public Library (Acc. No. 71760)](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/5457/1daa9460-ba5c-11ee-bc5d-6ba8048852d9-vUVFF5P.lg@2x.jpg)