The Artwork
Of the totem poles that lie at the heart of Northwest Coast art, Harris has said, “They are our deeds to the land. They serve as witnesses to the encounters of our ancestors with the supernatural beings who control all the fish, animals and plants in our world. They are our charter of rights from time immemorial.”
Walter currently has 2 pieces available for purchase.
A 7' Killer Whale Sculpture
$130,000 CAD
Carved in 2001, This is his last pole.
Wholeness of Life
$400 CAD
22" by 22" Limited Edition
Print. This print represents Walter and his wife, Sadie.
He is the killer whale wrapped around Sadie, the wolf.
Some of His Previous Works
Creation of the Mosquito - 1978
Killer Whale
Mosquito Headdress
Pieces - 1983
Sun Mask - 1973
In the early 1970s, he produced the first of a series of stunning masks and headdresses. The first, an articulated killer whale helmet which echoed the headgear of his ancestors. He also carved a delicate and graceful mask of a woman with eagle maskettes on her braids, inspired by an ancient Gitxsan mask in the Portland Art Museum. But, Perhaps the most spectacular was a carved headpiece depicting the legendary one-horned mountain goat, which, in a classic myth of the Gitxsan, triggered a disastrous mountain slide in the Skeena River valley several thousand years ago.
Also, in the early 1970s, Harris, assisted by other ‘Ksan carvers, raised the first traditional pole in modern times. He used his family crest of “Obsidian Nose” (the progenitor of all mosquitoes) as the main figure at the base. Several years later, he designed another totem pole at Kispiox with the figure of the weeping woman at the base, to honour another village chief, Mary Johnston.
Housefront paintings were another inherited tradition. Working with the ‘Ksan carvers, he produced a series of monumental bas reliefs for architectural installations on the southern mainland. Among them were four large screens for the Royal Bank of Canada on Georgia Street in Vancouver and a set of massive red cedar doors for the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. He also created housefront paintings for the Kispiox Band Office and for his studio, The Hiding Place Gallery and Studio.
Among other major commissions was a carved stone lintel located in the entrance to the House of Commons, Parliament building, in Ottawa. For this commission, he studied with George Ramel, a gifted Vancouver stone sculptor who had assisted Haida artist Bill Reid with his monumental sculptural works over several decades. Harris's Killer Whale crest for this ceremonial doorway is one of the most important stone sculptures by any Northwest Coast artist.
Another important Ottawa commission was a totem pole on Victoria Island in the Ottawa River below the Parliament Buildings. In 1979, he produced a carved and painted screen for the Canadian Embassy in Paris. Other major projects included poles in Rochester, New York (a collaboration with Art Sterrit) and Baltimore, Maryland, and a large killer whale carving for the Vancouver Art Gallery. In 1978, Harris was appointed to the Canadian Government's Fine Arts Committee, which assisted in the purchase of native art from across the country.
Among these beautiful works of art, Harris has also created many prints and jewelry pieces. His jewelry has all been created one of a kind, and are cherished by all who own them.