Lot 75
Frederick Alexcee (Wiksamnen) (1853-1940s), Tsimshian
Additional Images
Provenance:
Heffel, Toronto, ON, 29 Jun 2017
A Prominent Vancouver Collection, BC
Note:
Born and raised in Lax Kwʼalaams (Port Simpson), British Columbia, Frederick Alexcee was the son of Tsimshian mother, and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) father who was employed with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Alexcee carved important ritual objects for use in his Tsimshian community, but also created model poles, canoes, ladles, and paddles for sale, in addition to painting portraits, and highly descriptive paintings illustrating both ceremonial and everyday life on the Coast. Notably two of Alexcee’s paintings were included in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada as early as 1927, where they were exhibited alongside, among others, works by Paul Kane, Emily Carr, Lawren Harris, Edwin Holgate, and A.Y. Jackson.[1]
[1] Leah Snyder, Fort Simpson: the Historical Work of Frederick Alexcee, The National Gallery of Canada, accessed 27 Aug 2024, https://www.gallery.ca/magazine/your-collection/fort-simpson-the-historical-work-of-frederick-alexcee