File consists of one signed copy of a portrait of an unidentified Indigenous man by artist W. Langdon Kihn. Portrait was gifted to Norman Luxton by Kihn in 1922.
1 drawing : portrait, pencil and ink ; 29 x 37.5 cm
History / Biographical
Wilfred Langdon Kihn (1898-1957) was an American artist born in Brooklyn, New York. Kihn was best known for his illustrated portraits of American and Canadian Indigenous people, including members of the Blackfoot, Navajo, Pueblo and Tsimshian communities. The individuals in Kihn's portraits were most often depicted wearing traditional and ceremonial clothing rather than their typical clothes.
Kihn's art career began in 1919 when he travelled to Montana and created some of his earliest portraits while visiting the Blackfeet Reservation. Throughout the 1920s, Kihn travelled extensively in Canada and the United States, creating portraits of individuals from a diverse range of Indigenous communities. Many of these portraits were put on display as part of a travelling exhibition organized by the Brooklyn Museum. In 1935, Kihn was commissioned by National Geographic to produce Indigenous portraits for publications; this ultimately led to a two-decade career with National Geographic.
Scope & Content
File consists of one signed copy of a portrait of an unidentified Indigenous man by artist W. Langdon Kihn. Portrait was gifted to Norman Luxton by Kihn in 1922.
Notes
Portrait is signed in the bottom left corner: "To "Norm" Luxton From his friend W. Langdon Kihn. 1922"
A very brightly coloured pastel drawing. The portrait of the man dominates almost the entire picture. A dark blue background behind his head, the face is drawin in good detail, black braids to the front. A red undershirt, yellow vest with white/red/purple diamond designs over shoulders. A necklace …
A very brightly coloured pastel drawing. The portrait of the man dominates almost the entire picture. A dark blue background behind his head, the face is drawin in good detail, black braids to the front. A red undershirt, yellow vest with white/red/purple diamond designs over shoulders. A necklace of black-tipped weasel tails and long, black horse tails. He is wearing a brown (buckskin ?) shirt. On the back of the heavy card backing: Shorty White-Grass A-PO-TO-YE-SEE Blackfeet Tribe of Browning Mont. in blue; in black: #54.
Pencil sketch of foothills with mountain range in background. A river indicated in foreground flows from left bottom corner to right, brc is river bank. Light and heavy pencil lines with shading, indicating trees and hills. Colour notes throughout. Drawing made on light sketchbook paper, serra…
Pencil sketch of foothills with mountain range in background. A river indicated in foreground flows from left bottom corner to right, brc is river bank. Light and heavy pencil lines with shading, indicating trees and hills. Colour notes throughout. Drawing made on light sketchbook paper, serrated top edge, rounded corners bl and br.
General colour: pencil on white. Line drawing of nuts. Some lines in the lower half are jagged to indicate trees. In the lower right are larger marks to indicate trees. In the upper left corner, the underside of clouds are outlined.
General colour: pencil on white. Line drawing of nuts. Some lines in the lower half are jagged to indicate trees. In the lower right are larger marks to indicate trees. In the upper left corner, the underside of clouds are outlined.
The mountains dominate the picture, of blue/purple tones. Left foreground is a small lake with reflections of the mountains, immediate right foreground has yellow/brown tones, treed shoreline. Little sky showing, cloudy. Credit both The Banff Centre and Mrs. J. I. Brewster in any exhibition publica…
The mountains dominate the picture, of blue/purple tones. Left foreground is a small lake with reflections of the mountains, immediate right foreground has yellow/brown tones, treed shoreline. Little sky showing, cloudy. Credit both The Banff Centre and Mrs. J. I. Brewster in any exhibition publication of the collection, either in whole or in part. Banff Centre catalogue numbers: 81 0334 A; 20687.
A head and shoulders portrait of a First Nations Chief in full headdress. He is turned slightly to the right, his right hand is raised in salute. Written in the lower right corner is “To my fine old friend Col. Moore Anis-ta-ma-ka Pal. Banff, Sept. 7 1927.”
A head and shoulders portrait of a First Nations Chief in full headdress. He is turned slightly to the right, his right hand is raised in salute. Written in the lower right corner is “To my fine old friend Col. Moore Anis-ta-ma-ka Pal. Banff, Sept. 7 1927.”
General colour: blue. The lake at the bottom is banked on the right by trees and on the left in the distance by a mountain face rising out of the water. Glacier is center with five peaks visible: The central one being left of center at the very top. Sky is yellow grey and mostly in the upper right …
General colour: blue. The lake at the bottom is banked on the right by trees and on the left in the distance by a mountain face rising out of the water. Glacier is center with five peaks visible: The central one being left of center at the very top. Sky is yellow grey and mostly in the upper right corner.
General colour: blue. A foreground rock cliff goes up right side from the lower corner. Center mountain face has a jagged ridge. Clouds come down to the peak at the upper right of center, edge. In the lower left corner is a distant mountain. Blue sky with one cloud fills the upper left area. There …
General colour: blue. A foreground rock cliff goes up right side from the lower corner. Center mountain face has a jagged ridge. Clouds come down to the peak at the upper right of center, edge. In the lower left corner is a distant mountain. Blue sky with one cloud fills the upper left area. There is also a patch of blue in the upper right corner.
Drawing of two men standing beside a teepee, one smoking a pipe, as two figures on horses approach. “Greetings” written in black ink below image. Coloured in with watercolour. Left figure wears yellow, green and red striped coat (Hudson’s Bay blanket?), brimmed hat with red feather, has a yellow …
Drawing of two men standing beside a teepee, one smoking a pipe, as two figures on horses approach. “Greetings” written in black ink below image. Coloured in with watercolour. Left figure wears yellow, green and red striped coat (Hudson’s Bay blanket?), brimmed hat with red feather, has a yellow face(?). Figure at right wears green brimmed hat and gray waistcoat and pants, hands are yellow and face is black.
A single figure study of partially reclined figure with left leg bent and right leg extended, with arms supporting behind the back and head tilted back.
A single figure study of partially reclined figure with left leg bent and right leg extended, with arms supporting behind the back and head tilted back.