Transformation mask by Doug La Fortune Sr.

• Artist: LaFortune, Doug
• Nation: Coast Salish First Nation
• Type: Mask

Note: all prices shown on this website are in Canadian Dollars

Thunderbird / Man TRANSFORMATION MASK, by Doug LaFortune

Measurements: 23" long, 15" high, 15" wide - total 53" wide when opened!! (59 x 38 x 18 cm, 135 when fully opened)

dated: late 1980's

What a great piece - Transformations Masks are very difficult to find and this is a great example of a true, traditional piece of First Nations Art. The expression of the Thunderbird is really fabulous - so is the detailed carving in the human face. When the Thunderbird is closed, it also shows a second face underneath - 

Here is the interesting story: Doug himself carved and sold this piece in the early 1980s through a Gallery in Banff, Canada and it traveled all the way to the US. 40 years later, it returned back home to Vancouver Island (to My Mondo Trading). Doug was very excited to see his mask again, even though it had a few signs of aging/handling, he was very pleased.

He himself (due to illness) isn’t carving anymore and told me that he only carved 3 of these transformation masks over his long carreer  When the mask came back, it had one of the curls of the Thunderbird cracked, so Doug’s son (Doug Horne), who is a very talented artist himself, decided on the request of his father to restore it. He added new hinges as well as new curls to the piece so it really looks stunning again (the buyer of this piece will receive the original curls as well, as seen in one of the images). 

Photos of This Piece

About This Artist

Doug LaFortune was born in Bellingham, Washington on August 25th, 1953. He is a member of the Coast Salish nation, which inhabits the southern region of British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Doug takes the Owl as his family crest...Artist bio and other available works »