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Crane Mask
Crane Mask
Restored by (b. 1955, Central Yup'ik)

Crane Mask

Datec. 1900
DimensionsOverall: 43 1/2 × 25 × 15 in. (110.5 × 63.5 × 38.1 cm)
Object numberT0651
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Pierre Matisse
Photograph by John Bigelow Taylor, NYC
Label TextThis remarkable dance mask shows a large crane carrying a shaman’s helper on its abdomen. A product of a shaman's vision, it bursts with energetic movement, standing tall with legs widespread and wings aflutter, its neck straining upward. The crane is not actually flying, as its legs do not extend straight behind; rather they are bent, poised for flight or bounding upward in ritual dance.
Exhibition History"Art Des Indiens D'Amerique Du Nord Dans La Collection D'Eugene Thaw," Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France, Somogy Editions D'Art, January 21, 2000 - March 18, 2000.

"Art of the American Indian: The Thaw Collection," The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, March 2, 2010 - May 30, 2010; Minneapolis Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN, October 24, 2010 - January 9, 2011; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX, April 24, 2011 - September 23, 2011; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, December 4, 2011 - February 12, 2012.

"Moon Dancers: Yup'ik Masks and the Surrealists," DiDonna Gallery, New York City, NY, April 26, 2018 - June 29, 2018.

"Henri Matisse and the Arctic Spirit," Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ, October 27, 2018 - February 4, 2019.
ProvenanceAdam Hollis Twitchell, Bethel, Alaska; Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation (9/3416), New York City, 1919; Julius Carlebach, New York City; Kay Sage Tanguy, New York City; Pierre Matisse, New York City; Gift of Mrs. Pierre Matisse in honor of Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw
BibliographyFienup-Riordan, Ann. The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996, p.13, [caption] "One of a pair of Kuskokwim masks representing a crane that carried a sick angalkug to his home. Carlebach purchased the other from Heye in 1944. [The last statement refers to T651. T651 is not illustrated].

King, J.H.C. "The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art." American Indian Art Magazine. Vol.21, No.3. (Summer 1996): 42.

Vincent, Gilbert et al. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2000, p.441.

Used in "Yup'ik Masks" by Sean Mooney, The Menil Collection, 2016, interior .

Fognell, Eva and Alexander Brier Marr, eds. Art of the North American Indians: The Thaw Collection at the Fenimore Art Museum, 2nd ed. Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2016, p. 487.

Transtrum, Taylor. "Henri Matisse: Un-Masked." Native American Art Magazine. (February/March, 2019): p. 90-95, ill. 92, fig. 3.
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5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
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