STAN GREENE (1953-) COAST SALISH, CULTUS LAKE, B.C.
Salmon Woman Mask, 1982
alder wood, acrylic paint, and goat fur, 15.5 x 11 x 4.5 in (39.4 x 27.9 x 11.4 cm), measurements reflect dimensions with fur
inscribed, "Gitksan / We-gy-et's wife / The Salmon Woman";
dated, signed, and inscribed, "[2?]/86 / Stan Greene / Sardis, B.C."

Provenance
Private Collection, Burlington, Ont.

Stan Greene is one of the contemporary Coast Salish artists who has helped revive and popularize Coast Salish sculpture and design since the 1980s, although this early mask only reflects the Northern-style influence of his formal art education at the Kitanmax School of Northwest Coast Art. As the Museum of Anthropology at UBC (MOA) notes in Greene’s biography, “he began carving professionally in 1976 when he studied with Vernon Stephens, Ken Mowatt, and Murphy Green at the Kitanmax School of Northwest Coast Art at 'Ksan.” [1] This mask is carved in alder and is a classic example of a 1980s ‘Ksan School mask. The mask depicts Salmon Woman – We-gy-et's (Raven’s) wife – with fine, naturalistically proportional facial features and a cowl made of goat hide for her hair. She is crying red, formline tears, which have turned into a salmon design on her left cheek.

As a leading Coast Salish artist, Greene’s work can be found in museums across North America including the MOA, Museum of Vancouver, The Burke Museum, The Autry, and the American Museum of Natural History. Green’s style of art has focused much more on Coast Salish design elements and themes for the last several decades, making these earlier, Northern-style examples of his work much more unusual.

1. UBC Museum of Anthropology Online Collection Database. Stan Greene biography. http://collection-online.moa.ubc.ca/search/person?person=1061&tab=biography

Christopher W. Smith