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Protection

Date1999

Maker Floyd "Tyee" Joseph First Nations, Kwakwaka'wakw, born 1953

Label TextJoseph’s design seems to depict the elegant, long-necked loon, perhaps in a moment of protecting her young. Loons are agile and vocal birds that spend most of their lives on the water, only coming onshore to nest. They prefer quiet, freshwater lakes for breeding but migrate to rivers, estuaries, and coastlines. In summer, they exhibit dramatic black and white plumage. Loons are much less common than ravens, eagles, and hawks in Northwest Coast art but are still claimed as crests.

Object number2018.29.96

Provenance[Pacific Editions Limited, Victoria, British Columbia]; purchased by Bruce and Mary-Louise Colwell, Seattle, Washington, Nov. 21, 2003

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Avian Avatars: Birds in Northwest Coast Prints from the Colwell Collection, Dec. 15, 2021 - June 12, 2022.

Credit LineGift of R. Bruce and Mary-Louise Colwell

DimensionsSheet: 29 x 21 in. (73.7 x 53.3 cm) Image: 20 1/4 x 18 3/4 in. (51.4 x 47.6 cm)

MediumSilkscreen