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Donald Ellis Gallery is pleased to present a selection of Plains Indian Ledger Art, created by male warrior artists as records of personal and communal histories in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Produced at a time of increasing American imperial expansion on the Great Plains, Ledger Drawings speak to Plains warrior culture and the importance of the horse to it. The gallery is also exhibiting a select group of drawings by highly acclaimed Haida artist and author Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954). Yahgulanaas is known for reinterpreting Northwest Coast formline design with riffs on Asian manga to create fluid imagery that reflects oral tradition and environmental activism. His works are shown alongside a group of gouache drawings by Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis, 1908-1971), a hereditary chief of the Kwakwaka’wakw nations. Reinterpreting mythological subject matter, his works are characterised by a distinct modernist sensibility of space and colour.

The works in this exhibition are at once deeply rooted in the formalised visual traditions of Indigenous Northwest Coast and Plains art and constitute highly innovative forms of painterly expression. Trained within their own communities, these artists operated outside of dominant art academies and institutions and their work remains largely absent from the mainstream canon of art historical discourse. We believe that each of the artists in this exhibition represents a formative aspect of North American art history and including their work in leading international art fairs is timely and appropriate to their artistic importance.

Available Works by Donald Ellis Gallery

Content-A Thumbnails
Anonymous artist 

Coffeen Ledger Book, Apsálooke, ca 1890-1910

Graphite and colored pencil on paper

3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in

$8,500

Anonymous artist 

Coffeen Ledger Book, Apsálooke, ca 1890-1910

Graphite and colored pencil on paper

3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in

$8,500

Inquire
Attributed to Eugene Standing Elk (ca 1857-1926)

 Northern Cheyenne, Central Plains, ca 1882

Watercolor, ink and graphite on paper 

5 3/4 x 3 1/8 in

$8,500

Attributed to Eugene Standing Elk (ca 1857-1926)

 Northern Cheyenne, Central Plains, ca 1882

Watercolor, ink and graphite on paper 

5 3/4 x 3 1/8 in

$8,500

Inquire
Anonymous artist 

Goodwyn Ledger Book, Lakota, Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, ca 1880   

Ink, graphite and colored pencil on lined paper 

3 x 5 3/4 in

$8,000

Anonymous artist 

Goodwyn Ledger Book, Lakota, Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, ca 1880   

Ink, graphite and colored pencil on lined paper 

3 x 5 3/4 in

$8,000

Inquire
Attributed to Arrow  (n.d.)

Cedar Tree Ledger Book, Southern Cheyenne, Central Plains, ca 1880

Crayon and graphite on lined paper 

7 1/4 x 12 1/2 in

$8,500

Attributed to Arrow  (n.d.)

Cedar Tree Ledger Book, Southern Cheyenne, Central Plains, ca 1880

Crayon and graphite on lined paper 

7 1/4 x 12 1/2 in

$8,500

Inquire
Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Raccoon Dance Mask, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Raccoon Dance Mask, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Inquire
Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Face Dance Masks, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Face Dance Masks, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Inquire
Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Whale, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Whale, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Inquire
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954)

Pondered, Rotational Series,  Haida, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2012

Watercolor and ink on matte board

22 3/4 x 28 5/8 in

$9,500

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954)

Pondered, Rotational Series,  Haida, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2012

Watercolor and ink on matte board

22 3/4 x 28 5/8 in

$9,500

Inquire
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954)

A Tale of Two Shamans, Haida, Vancouver, BC, 1999

Ink on cardstock 

13 x 9 5/8 in

$6,000

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954)

A Tale of Two Shamans, Haida, Vancouver, BC, 1999

Ink on cardstock 

13 x 9 5/8 in

$6,000

Inquire
Anonymous artist 

Coffeen Ledger Book, Apsálooke, ca 1890-1910

Graphite and colored pencil on paper

3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in

$8,500

Anonymous artist 

Coffeen Ledger Book, Apsálooke, ca 1890-1910

Graphite and colored pencil on paper

3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in

$8,500

Attributed to Eugene Standing Elk (ca 1857-1926)

 Northern Cheyenne, Central Plains, ca 1882

Watercolor, ink and graphite on paper 

5 3/4 x 3 1/8 in

$8,500

Attributed to Eugene Standing Elk (ca 1857-1926)

 Northern Cheyenne, Central Plains, ca 1882

Watercolor, ink and graphite on paper 

5 3/4 x 3 1/8 in

$8,500

Anonymous artist 

Goodwyn Ledger Book, Lakota, Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, ca 1880   

Ink, graphite and colored pencil on lined paper 

3 x 5 3/4 in

$8,000

Anonymous artist 

Goodwyn Ledger Book, Lakota, Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, ca 1880   

Ink, graphite and colored pencil on lined paper 

3 x 5 3/4 in

$8,000

Attributed to Arrow  (n.d.)

Cedar Tree Ledger Book, Southern Cheyenne, Central Plains, ca 1880

Crayon and graphite on lined paper 

7 1/4 x 12 1/2 in

$8,500

Attributed to Arrow  (n.d.)

Cedar Tree Ledger Book, Southern Cheyenne, Central Plains, ca 1880

Crayon and graphite on lined paper 

7 1/4 x 12 1/2 in

$8,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Raccoon Dance Mask, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Raccoon Dance Mask, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Face Dance Masks, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Face Dance Masks, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Whale, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Chief Henry Speck (U’dzistalis 1908-1971)

Whale, Kwakwaka'wakw, Turnour Island, British Columbia, 1959

Gouache on paper

21 x 22 3/4 in

$5,500

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954)

Pondered, Rotational Series,  Haida, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2012

Watercolor and ink on matte board

22 3/4 x 28 5/8 in

$9,500

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954)

Pondered, Rotational Series,  Haida, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2012

Watercolor and ink on matte board

22 3/4 x 28 5/8 in

$9,500

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954)

A Tale of Two Shamans, Haida, Vancouver, BC, 1999

Ink on cardstock 

13 x 9 5/8 in

$6,000

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (b. 1954)

A Tale of Two Shamans, Haida, Vancouver, BC, 1999

Ink on cardstock 

13 x 9 5/8 in

$6,000

Donald Ellis Gallery

By appointment in New York
+1 905 648 1837
info@donaldellisgallery.com
donaldellisgallery.com

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