Sea Bear Box Back - Limited Edition Print
Sea Bear Box Back - Limited Edition Print
25 1/2" x 19 1/2"
Unnumbered but from an edition of 75. Signed and dated.
1970
"This box is an original composition based on the blending of forms found on other boxes. I did a lot of copies of bentbox designs and I encourage apprentices to copy designs from the old masters until they can start to interpret their own designs"
Sea Bear Box Back introduces the figure of Kugann Jaad, or Mouse Woman, who is rendered upside down in the belly of the sea bear, pushing the dividing line between head and body upwards. Kugann Jaad is a common design element in Haida box painting. She appears in numerous Haida narratives as an intermediary assisting the human world with meddling from the supernatural realm.
"In one of Wilson Duff’s lectures he talked about Kugann and referred to her as Mighty Mouse. In all of the studying I have done of bentwood box-es, Kugann jumps in there somewhere, and so I think of her as the spirit of the box design."
- Robert Davidson
Wyatt, Gary, and Robert Davidson. Echoes of the Supernatural: The Graphic Art of Robert Davidson. Figure 1 Publishing, 2022.
Robert Davidson
CULTURAL GROUP:
Haida
BORN:
November 4, 1946
BIRTHPLACE:
Hydaberg, Alaska
Robert Davidson belongs to the Eagle clan. He comes from a family of acclaimed Haida artists, including his father, Claude Davidson, his great grandfather, Charles Edenshaw, and his brother, Reg Davidson. He was born in Alaska, but raised in Massett, Haida Gwaii. Robert works in cedar, gold, silver, argillite, bronze, and silkscreen. In 1959, he carved argillite totem poles with his father and grandfather. Between 1966-69, he apprenticed with Bill Reid, and from 1967-68 studied at the Vancouver School of Art. In 1969, Robert carved and raised a 40-foot totem pole in Masset, which was the first to be raised since 1871. In 1977, Robert and his apprentices carved a memorial to his great grandfather for the Charles Edenshaw Memorial Longhouse in Old Masset. This building would later burn down. In 1984, Robert carved a talking stick for Pope John Paul II to commemorate his visit to Vancouver. In 1985, he carved three totem poles for the Pepsi Co. International Sculpture Garden, and in 1986 he was commissioned to create a painting for Expo ’86 in Vancouver. In 1992, Robert was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts at the University of Victoria, BC. In 1993, there was a major retrospective of Robert’s works at the Vancouver Art Gallery, which then travelled on to the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec. In May of 1996, Robert was awarded the Order of Canada. In 2004, Robert had another solo show, at Vancouver’s Museum of Anthropology titled The Abstract Edge. Publications include: Robert Davidson, Haida Printmaker (1979); Robert Davidson, Eagle of the Dawn by Hilary Stewart (1993); Challenging Traditions: Contemporary First Nations Art of the Northwest Coast by Ian M. Thom (2009); and Four Decades: An Innocent Gesture by Robert Davidson (2009). In 2019, Robert was featured in the landmark publication Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry by author Alex Dawkins.
