Book | Art of the Northwest Coast by Aldona Jonaitis

A new edition of the seminal overview of the magnificent art of the Northwest Coast, with text from a distinguished authority augmented by full-colour images throughout.

Art of the Northwest Coast is a superbly illustrated and informed overview of the Indigenous art of the Northwest Coast, covering the region from Puget Sound to Haida Gwaii to Alaska, and proceeding from prehistoric times to the present. This groundbreaking volume provides an overview of the development of the art’s styles and meanings in the context of the region’s social history.

A new chapter discusses contemporary artists, including Marianne Nicholson, Nicholas Galanin, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and Sonny Assu, who address pressing issues ranging from Indigenous sovereignty and the destruction of the environment to the power of Indigenous women and efforts to work with the non-Indigenous to heal the wounds of racism and discrimination.

Aldona Jonaitis argues convincingly that rather than being lost following European contact, traditions were simply expressed in different ways, and that First Nations art is now flourishing as never before. Compellingly written and beautifully designed, Art of the Northwest Coast is essential reading for anyone interested in art, First Nations cultures and the evolution of both.

Dimensions:  6.75 x 9.75 in

Format: Soft Cover

Pages: 416

Published: June 2021

Language: English