Whale Design House Board

19th century

Kwakiutl, Native American

On View

Native American, Level 1, South Wing

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Title Whale Design House Board

Artwork Date 19th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Native American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Kwakiutl

Medium Paint on hewn cedar plank

Dimensions Overall: 24 × 18 feet 9 7/8 inches × 1 inches (61 cm × 5 m 73.7 cm × 2.5 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department Indigenous Americas

Credit Founders Society Purchase, William H. Murphy Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 57.60

Markings

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Provenance

ca. 1893, collected by George Hunt, a Kwakiutl, for the Chicago World's Fair of 1893;
ca. 1894, presented to the Field Museum (Chicago, Illinois, USA);
sold or traded to the Denver Art Museum (Denver Colorado, USA).
(Carlebach Gallery, New York, New York, USA, no. 22963);
1957-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Yakutat South Indian Art of the Northwest Coast. Exh. cat., Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, 1964, pp. 44-45, no. 90 (ill.) (misidentified as 56.70).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Kwakiutl, Native American, Whale Design House Board, 19th century, paint on hewn cedar plank. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, William H. Murphy Fund, 57.60.