Beau Dick, “Pookmis (Spirit of the Drowned) Mask”

Born in the community of Yalis (Alert Bay), British Columbia, Beau Dick, known as Walas Gwa’yam (‘Big Whale’), is widely acknowledged for his importance as both an artist and activist. His artworks have contributed to the ceremonial life of his community, and have expanded the popular conception of Northwest Coast art and imagery among collectors and fellow artists.

Many of Dick’s creations take on a haunting or otherworldly aspect, mediated by the artist’s integration of a colour palette and style incorporating imagery from Japanese and Western pop culture.

The present artwork is a unique and characterful depiction of a ghost-like Pookmis Spirit, a subject revisited by Dick in many variations over his career. Pookmis is variously called, Spirit of the Nearly Drowned, The Other Wild Man or The Destroyer, and Pukwu:bis by the Makah.[1] Pookmis masks are part of an extended family of wild-man and wild-woman imagery that includes the cannibalistic Dzunukwa spirit, who is sometimes said to be the keeper of drowned souls, returning the souls of drowned whalers to their villages during their memorials.

The present work includes a length of twine suspending a cedar whistle, a characteristic found in other examples of Pookmis by Beau Dick. Whistles are closely associated on the Northwest Coast with the voices of spirits, and among the Tlingit are sometimes even called ye’k se (spirit’s voice).[2]

[1] Christian Feest. “Transformations of a Mask: Confidential Intelligence from the Lifeway of Things.” Baessler-Archiv, Neue Folge, Band XLVI. 1998. https://cajs.no/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Transformations_of_a_Mask_Confidential_I.pdf
[2] George Thorton Emmons and Frederica de Laguna, The Tlingit Indians (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991), 454.

About the auction:

Anchored by Norval Morrisseau’s monumental 1978 canvas, Young Shaman with Powers, our Major Spring Auction of First Nations Art also includes important works by artists Dempsey Bob, Beau Dick, Alex Janvier, Daphne Odjig, Allen Sapp, Robert Charles Davidson, Norman Tait, David Boxley, Klatle-Bhi, Terry Starr, Allan Weir, and others.

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Please contact us for more information.

Bidding is available May 14 – May 28, 2026.

On view at our Toronto gallery:

 Wednesday, May 20 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
 Thursday, May 21 from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
 Friday, May 22 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
 Saturday, May 23 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
 Sunday, May 24 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
 Monday, May 25 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
 Tuesday, May 26 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
 Wednesday, May 27 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Or by appointment.