Hubert Koonuk: Baleen Basket with Eagle, c. 1960

Hubert Koonuk: North Alaskan Eskimo Inupiak baleen basket with scrimshaw eagle finial, c. 1960.

Signed on inside top:

Made by Hubert Koonuk (1911-1994)

Signed on the bottom:

Pt. Hope, Alaska No. 6

This woven baleen basket has a fine scrimshaw eagle finial mounted on lid top and a matching rectangular piece on bottom. Inside piece is circular, says “Pt. Hope, Alaska No. 6” and is woven into the basket bottom. Same with inside top piece which says “Made by Hubert Koonuk”. The basket measures 3.5” in diameter and 11.5” in circumference. Basket height including finial is 3.625” high. 

Mr. Koonuk was one of the most prolific basket makers in Pt. Hope for the better part of the 20th century.

This basket is in excellent condition. The previous owner's mother traveled to a number of Alaskan villages when she worked for the BIA in the 1960s and was given many pieces as welcome gifts from local residents. This piece had been in her family ever since.

Vintage ARCO Zippo Lighter, 1977

Fred Machetanz Lithograph "Taking the Sun," 1965

Fred Machetanz "A Puppy Named Gih" Book Illustration, 1957

This children' book tells the story of training a team of sled dog puppies in Alaska, including a puppy named "Gih," which is the Eskimo word for "Go." It was first published in 1957, and was written by Sara Machetanz and illustrated by Fred Machetanz.

Maurice Heaton Glass Dish

Dan Wingren: "Franciscans --Rome," 1958, Oil on Canvas

In the mid-1950s, Dan Wingren traveled to Europe and sketched images of towns and villages in France and Italy. In 1958, he was appointed director of the San Antonio Art Institute and taught painting at the McNay Art Museum (associated with the San Antonio Art Institute) until May 1961. He taught at Trinity University as a guest lecturer in the Fall semester in 1961. Wingren moved back to Dallas in May 1962 to paint full-time although in the Fall of that year he taught a design class at SMU. In 1963 and 1964, Wingren taught drawing and composition and oil painting at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts School and, in 1965, he began teaching full-time in the art department at SMU; he remained at the University until he retired in 1991. In 1971, Wingren was appointed Professor of Art; from 1969-1971 he served as Associate Chairman of the Division of Fine Arts. During his tenure at SMU, Wingren taught classes in art history (19th and 20th Century), design, drawing, and painting, and also conducted seminars on Contemporary Art topics.

Fred Machetanz Lithograph: "Stalking the Seal," 1962

Machetanz did a similar lithograph in 1977, "The Stalk."