Indian War Canoe

A great Indigenous war canoe stretches across the shore in this 1912 painting by Emily Carr, its wooden hull carved into a fierce creature face with a wide open mouth. Painted in deep purples, greens, and warm earthy tones, the canoe rests beneath a huge tree while tiny figures gather by the water in the distance. The pale houses of a coastal village dot the background, hinting at everyday life going on around this remarkable object.

Carr spent much of her life traveling to First Nations communities along the British Columbia coast, recording their villages, totems, and crafts at a time when much of the world overlooked them. Her loose brushwork and bright, dancing colors here come straight from Post-Impressionism, a style she picked up during a trip to France shortly before painting this. Rather than fuss over small details, she let light and color carry the feeling of the place. Carr saw genuine beauty in Indigenous art and made it central to her own, and works like this one helped make her one of Canada's most cherished painters.