Six Best Booths at TEFAF New York 2023

Lee Carter of Arnet News has selected a monumental pair of carved lions as one of six highlights from TEFAF New York Spring 2023.

The "one-of-a kind" sculptures were created by an anonymous Haida artist in the early to mid 19th century. "We don’t know for certain why these lions were carved,” the article quotes gallery owner Donald Ellis. “If I were to speculate, I’d say they were commissioned by the senior factor at the Hudson Bay Company for use in his home, since carved stone lions were popular in the gardens of his native England.” Haida artists began carving works specifically for the non-Native market beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century. The lions were possibly derived from an early photograph or newspaper illustration. They are shown alongside an outstanding selection of model totem poles and an exceedingly rare model Great House by Haida artist John gwaay t’iihld (1813-1912).