The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1939-05-12
ALASKA ARTISTS
ADD PAINTINGS
TO COLLECTIONS
Talented Crumrines, Moth
er and Daughter, Have
Distinct Ability

whether they write, take pictures or
paint them, they find inspiration
and Juneau profits by their presence
here
The talented Crumrines, Nina and
/ Josephine, have each added to their
collection of Alaska pictures since
they came to Juneau ten days ago.
A Mendenhall Glacier from AUX
Lake by Mrs. Nina Crumrine. joins
her hundred or SO sketches OF
scenes around Ketchikan, Sitka,
Haines and Skagway. III
Josephine, her daughter, who has
painted many famous dogs and half
the animals in the Woodland Park
ZOO in Seattle, has painted Wolf,
leader of Mary Joyces team of Hus-
ky dogs.
Work of both artists is on exhibit
in the Nugget Shops in the Baranof
Hotel and in the main shop on
South Franklin.
Mrs. Crumrine, during the years
she has been painting in Alaska. has
made an interesting collection of
Indian types, probably the most
complete collection in existence. To
this she plans to add Eskimo and
Aleut types this summer.
Natives Pose
Many famous Natives have posed
for Mrs. Crumrine and the pictures
she has made and the stories she
has to tell of her models are an in
teresting commentary on the Ma
lives of the North.
Two of her most interesting sub
iectS are Chief johnson of Ketchi--
kan and his wife, Tah-eek-la Mrs.
Crumrine doesn't vouch to the spell
ing of the Indian names, but gives
them phonetically). Chief Johnson,
whose Indian name is Kok-Teech,
posed twice for Mrs. Crumrine, each
time in his hat of yellow cedar and
copper which, he said, had been
worn by nine generations of chiefs.
The copper which trims the hat was
worth much money and had cost his
ancestors many slaves, Chief Kok :
Tech said.
Chief KHAN, whose totem stands
in front of the Pioneers Hall in
Ketchikan, is another model of the
artist For his portrait he wore a
handsome Chilkat blanket.
Maggie Katenaha, widow of a
former Indian Chief of SkagWay;
Laughing George Sanders, Haines
medicine man wearing elaborate
ceremonial robes; Henry Phillips,
of Haines, a Carlyle student in a
white caribou jacket; Paddy Go-Net
and his wife, Yukon River Indians
who now live in Haines, each wear
ing Chilkat blankets woven by Mrs.
Paddy -Net-these are represen-
tative of Mrs. Crumrine's Indian
portraits.
Picture Costumes
Not only do the portraits repre-
sent the Indian types, but they pic
ture their costumes as well. These
are usually the familiar white Chill
kat blankets, woven of goats hair
with designs in blue, yellow, black
and red or dance costumes of blue
or red wool with carefully-made
appliques of totem symbols and row
upon row of tiny pearl buttons-the
more buttons, the more important
the wearer
Mrs. Crumrine first does her
sketches in pastels, then reproduces
them in oils. Her oils of her Indians
usually have in the background the
totem of the subject of her portrait
"a detail that adds interest to the
picture.
Many familiar scenes in South
east Alaska are included in Mrs.
Cfumine's landscapes. Her newest
picture is Mendenhall. Then there
is Davidson Glacier, near Haines,
several lovely scenes of Lake Dewey
and the mountains around Skagway,
and a Mt. Edgcumbe that is a favor
ite among the group of Sitka pic
lures. tx.
Flair for Animals
Josephine Crumrihe, whose work,
though unlike her mothers, dis
plays a talent just as fine, has an
especial flair for animals.
In addition to Wolf, she has with
her in Juneau pictures of ,Kobuk, a
dog brought from Teller to Chill
koot by Major Amis, and Sandy,
owned by Mrs. Dawson of the Carl
bou Hotel at Carcross. Sandy's
claim to fame is that his mother was
one of Admiral Byrd's dogs on his
Antarctic trip. Father Gallant's Big
Ben, large st. Bernard that is
the special pet of the Mission, is
another of Miss Crumrine's models
AS ugly as her dogs are beautiful
is her painting of Clifford, Wood
land Park baboon.
In addition to animals, Miss
Crumrine paints children's por-
traits-but prefers to paint dogs UNI