Makah Totem by Frank Smith Ciscos

Frank Smith (1919-2006) was a prolific and important Makah artist who created several monumental poles that are still standing in locations across the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas. Smith was an important cultural teacher within his Makah community and is remembered as one of the most important Makah artists of the 20th century. Smith’s work had a distinctive look that combined bold Makah-style formline with naturalistic sculpture, particularly in how he carved human faces. He was fond of red, green, and black paints and sometimes utilized a grey undercoat on his sculpture. Smith’s pieces also regularly featured almond-shaped eyes, large, square, white teeth, and angular wings. This 32” pole is a classic example of Smith’s work and depicts a thunderbird with a face in its chest over an inverted killer whale with an anthropomorphized body. The surface of the pole within the u-forms and ovoids of the formline have also been worked with a knife to replicate the adze marks found on full-sized poles.

Although this pole has the name “Tom Smith” and “Macah Tribe” written on the verso, it definitely the work of Frank Smith and from the Makah Tribe. The incorrect name and misspelling are almost certainly from a previous owner who created the note from memory, which explains the incorrect name and the misspelling of Makah.

Today there are large totem poles standing in the city’s of Port Orchard, Bremerton, Neah Bay and Clallam Bay, WA, and many other locations all around the world. He preferred to stand in the background and seldom spent time in the view of the public eye. Pictures of Frank were nearly forbidden. 32″H x 27″W

PERIOD: 20th Century

ORIGIN: Northwest – Makah, Native American

SIZE: 32″H x 27″W