Isabella Edenshaw

Isabella Edenshaw (1842 – 1926) was a First Nations basket weaver who lived in Haida Gwaii. She was given this name by an Anglican priest when she was married. She is also known by the Haida names K'woiyeng, Yahgujanaas and S'itkwuns. Some sources list her birth year as 1858.[1][2]

She was born in Klukwan Village, Alaska, a member of the Yakulanas lineage of the Haida clan. Her parents died of smallpox when she was young and she was raised by chief Albert Edward Edenshaw. Around 1873, she was married to artist Charles Edenshaw; the couple had eleven children. She wove spruce roots into baskets and hats which were later painted by her husband. Her work appeared in the exhibitions Raven Travelling: Two Centuries of Haida Art at the Vancouver Art Gallery and Signed Without Signature at the British Columbia Museum of Anthropology.[1][3]

Her woven baskets and hats are included in the collections of the McCord Museum, the National Gallery of Canada and the BC Museum of Anthropology.[1]

Her daughter Florence Edenshaw Davidson was a well-known artist.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Edenshaw, Isabella". Canadian Women Artists History Initiative.
  2. ↑ "Charles Edenshaw: The Raven, The Sea Bear and Other Stories". NGC Magazine. National Gallery of Canada. March 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Isabella Edenshaw (1858-1926)". An Aboriginal Presence. Canadian Museum of History.
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