John Jay Hoover (Alaskan, 1919-2011), Fox and Ptarmigan

Carved and polychromed cedar, unsigned, two part form featuring a fox-like mask mounted with a standing bird, the bird wings featuring a carved human face.

12 1/2 x 19 1/2 x 10 3/4 in.

Private Collection, Pittsboro, North Carolina

John Jay Hoover was born in Cordova, Alaska, to an Aleut/Russian mother and a Dutch father. In 1952, Mr. Hoover moved his wife and young children to Edmonds, Washington, where he joined an art co-op, giving him access to an exhibition gallery and regular interaction with other local artists. Like many of these artists, he enrolled in the Leon Derbyshire School of Fine Arts and studied with Mr. Derbyshire for three years.

Mr. Hoover began working with wood carving in the late 1950s, including with cutting out shapes from pieces of wood and applying designs with oil paint. Later, he carved into the wood, drawing inspiration from traditional spirit boards and other Northwest and Native Alaska art. Although he worked with various types of wood, cedar became his preferred medium.

The figures depicted in his art came from his studies of Native ancestors and spirits. Because he lacked a traditional Native upbringing, Mr. Hoover learned about Aleut stories, culture, and even woodcarving techniques through reading books. He gradually moved away from the traditional Native look and feel of carving and developed his own sculptural style.

In the early 1970s, with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Mr. Hoover taught art at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, where he worked for a time with Allan Houser, Fritz Scholder, and other Native American artists. Later, he spent time traveling and working abroad, exhibited in large museums, and won numerous awards and honors. He has been an impressive influence on young Native artists.

Literature: "John Jay Hoover," Bureau of Indian Affairs Museum Program, Web, August 2017.

One bird leg with break and repair.