M0008895: Portrait of Sem-Medeeks of Gitinanga, by W. Langdon Kihn

Previous title, replaced October 2020: Portrait of American Indians by W. Langdon Kihn.

Watercolour of Sem-Medeeks of the Laxsgiik (Eagle) Clan of the Gitxsan nation (previously Gitinanga), British Columbia, by Wilfred Langdon Kihn in 1924. Sem-Medeeks is wearing an amheleit (headdress) carved with the face of an eagle, along with a blanket or cloak and is holding a rattle. The painting was commissioned by Sir Henry Wellcome for the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1926 and accessioned in June 1931 (accession number CC 8484). It was later removed from the collection and sold at auction (Sotheby's Toronto, 26-28 October 1970, lot 281). Related images: M0008894, M0008896, M0008897, M0008898, M0008899.

13 July 1943

1 photograph glass plate negative; 12 x 16.5 cm

Catalogue data comes from a combination of entries in the original glass plate registers, metadata created when the glass plates were digitised in the early 2000s and enhancements made by the cataloguer in 2020.

Please consult the digitised version as this item is fragile. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request access to the physical item.