Collection of the Portland Art Museum.

Collection of the Portland Art Museum.

In the work of Yurok artist Rick Bartow, human and animal images meld together, suggesting the interconnectedness of nature. In this cedar triptych, a crow and hawk mask human figures. For Bartow, these "transformational images" directly reference the myths he encountered while studying Native American carving techniques and symbolize the natural order and the power of change and redemption.

The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

Chilkat blankets, created by a complex form of tapestry twining, are the best-known textiles of the Northwest Coast. Emblems of nobility, they are prized for their crest significance, as well as for their beauty and fine workmanship. The labor-intensive process used to create a Chilkat blanket includes procuring and processing the materials, spinning the mountain goat wool wefts and the cedar bark and wood warps, dying the wefts, and weaving the blanket. The highly abstract designs of crest animals on Chilkat blankets fill the entire design space. The center panel of this design represents a diving whale, with the broad head filling the lower half while the spread-out tail flukes occupy the space along the upper border. A rectangular human face appears in the center of the whale's body.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Museum Purchase: Indian Collection Subscription Fund, Rasmussen Collection of Northwest Coast Indian Art.

Gift of Mrs. Ferdinand C. Smith and Mr. L. Hawley Hoffman.

Gift of Miss Sally Hart.