Kispiax Village 1929

Emily Carr painted Kispiax Village with oils on canvas, and I can imagine her wrestling with the scene, the paint thick in places, thinned in others. A painting like this comes into being through layering, maybe starting with dark blues for the sky and then building up the earth tones. I wonder if Carr felt a bit like those carved figures, standing tall, watching, trying to understand the world around her. What was it like to be a woman painting in that time and place, engaging with indigenous culture? Look at the way she renders those totems—they're not just objects; they're imbued with a presence, almost a weight of history. The whole scene is pulled together with these rhythmic curves, the hills echoing the shapes of the buildings, all tied together. It makes me think about Marsden Hartley and other painters exploring American subjects with such vibrancy. Carr is part of this ongoing conversation, finding her own voice, her own way of seeing, and I can feel her curiosity, her searching, in every brushstroke.