A Yup'ik mask and ancient ivory figure from St. Lawrence Island are two of the pieces recently acquired by the Vancouver Art Gallery in British Columbia. The two pieces are part of a bequest by the late George Gund III, an art collector from San Francisco, and according to gallery staff, they are the first items from Alaska ever acquired by the Vancouver museum. In addition, we're told that the St. Lawrence figure, a Punuk period carving of a human head estimated to be 1,300 years old, will be the oldest object in the gallery's entire collection.
The bulk of the 36-piece Gund collection, on display until Jan. 31, consists of work by Northwest tribes including Inland Tlingit. About half of the items are by well-known Canadian artists like Bill Reid and Robert Davidson, with eight masks by the latter. The Vancouver gallery already had what is probably the best collection of Davidson's work in any museum.
Images sent earlier by the museum suggest Gund was drawn to a uniformly high standard of quality. Four Tlingit pieces are in the collection: a pipe in the form of a beaver, an elaborate feast dish, a dagger with a bear handle and a remarkable human face mask. Another stunning piece is a Thunderbird frontlet in the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwaikutl) style.
In a press release the gallery sounded particularly excited by three carved poles by Ken Mowatt, Norman Tait and an anonymous Kwakwaka'wakw artist. "These are the first major poles to enter the Vancouver Art Gallery collection," it reads, which is almost hard to believe. Vancouver has quite a lot of good work by First Nations traditional and contemporary artists. But the gallery said -- rightly, I think -- that the Gund bequest will "dramatically" transform the significance of their current collection of Northwest Coast art.
Gund, brother of the former president of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Agnes Gund, collected a wide range of art and financed film festivals. The public knew him best as the owner of various sports franchises, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks. He died in Palm Springs in 2013 of stomach cancer.
The bequest caught the Vancouver Art Gallery by surprise. No one there was aware that Gund had any interest in the Canadian institution -- but his interest in professional hockey teams might have been a clue.
Free C.S. Lewis play in the Valley
A stage adaptation of the C.S. Lewis fantasy "The Magician's Nephew" will be presented with three shows at Lazy Mountain Bible Church in Palmer. Described as a "full-length drama for the family with intermission," the plot involves two young people who travel through mythical kingdoms and enchanted lands using magical rings.
It's hard to call it a fairy tale. Lewis famously said, "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." But, like his better-known "Narnia" series, "The Magician's Nephew" includes a great lion, an evil witch, heroic children and talking animals. The production features a cast of 26 and a backstage crew of more than 60. It will take place at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 8-9, with an additional 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. The church is located at 16005 E. Shawn Drive. The really good news here is that the show is being presented to the public for free! Now that's magic.
Harp, voice and piano
Speaking of free, the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra will sponsor a free concert of music featuring singer Katy Green, harpist Megan Bledsoe-Ward and pianist Susan Wingrove-Reed at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10. Appropriately for harp music, the event will take place at a church, First Covenant Church to be exact, at 12th Avenue and C Street. This is part of ASO's "Stained Glass" concert series. Although there is no admission charged, donations are accepted to help cover the incidental costs of these soirees.
More paint and booze
Following up on our Jan. 1 article about Paint Nite, we've heard from other entrepreneurs around town who mix mineral and alcoholic spirits. The Palette Studio is doing on-location, one-time painting classes that include a session at Sub Zero on Jan. 13, at which the subject of the painting will be that favorite Alaska landscape fixture, Mount Susitna, and a growler decorating session at Midnight Sun Brewing Co. on Jan. 18, in honor of Alaska Beer Week. The fee for the latter will include a half-gallon glass growler to decorate along with painting materials and instruction. Find out more at palettealaska.com.
Also at Midnight Sun Brewing, and a little closer at hand, is a new art show by the state's best-known beer artist, Scott Clendaniel, titled "Beer Art History." The show, which kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, is in conjunction with Midnight Sun's "Firkin Friday" tapping of a barleywine product they call Black Sun.
Clendaniel tells us he'll also be unveiling a new color painting of our city, "Anchorage Pops," copies of which will be made available for sale. As for the "History" show, it will consist of previous work from the artist's "Thirsty Thursday" series, most of which are parodies of famous paintings in which beer is prominently featured. The parodied parties include Michelangelo, Dali, Warhol, Magritte and others. Why is Edvard Munch's screamer screaming? Because his glass is empty!
Museum welcomes 200,000th visitor
At around 3 p.m. Dec. 30, the Anchorage Museum greeted its 200,000th customer of the year. Andrea Samuel had come in with her family and was greeted with an official hurrah. Samuel, a museum member, said she stops by the museum frequently, especially on cold days, and always finds "something stimulating for children and adults." She also said she was a little surprised by the hoopla but seemed to take it all in stride.
Hanley on Huntington
For readers interested in important Alaska literary personalities, we highly recommend taking a look at former Alaska Writer Laureate Anne Hanley's reflections on the late Sidney Huntington posted at the Alaska Humanities Forum website, akhf.org. Huntington was a character in Hanley's play "The Winter Bear" and the author of one of the most revealing memoirs about growing up in the Bush. He passed away after his 100th birthday but we still enjoy thinking about his humor, humanity and take-no-prisoners way of letting you know his usually very well-informed opinion about things.