This is an original acrylic on paper painting by Indigenous First Nations artist, Danny Dennis. It depicts 'Frog Stealing Copper with Moon' in traditional Northwest Coast formline design, but then Danny has also included a realistic hint of a Pacific Northwest island in the background. The framed dimensions are 26 inches by 21 inches and the symbolism represents the dissemination of wealth.

Since this piece is already framed, it will ship with the glass in. However, Canada Post does not insure glass of any kind, so if the glass happens to break during shipping, this shop will not cover the cost of the damage, whether this is to the frame or the painting itself. Buyer beware!

While used for different reasons regionally, the significance of copper along the Northwest Coast is widely recognized as an item of prestige and wealth. Originally acquired by coastal First Nations from open copper quarries controlled by First Nations of BC’s interior and Alaska, copper was once a rare metal in the region. Hammered copper cuffs are worn as a sign of status among First Nations people of the Northwest Coast, but copper is most well known as a shield-shaped and beaten object, sometimes engraved with symbols; when people speak of coppers this is what they are generally referring to. Copper is also inlaid on masks. Often a high ranking person will display and sometimes break a Copper at a potlatch, offering the broken piece to either an honored guest or rival. The breaking of the Copper does not diminish its value, but in fact, strengthens it. A person may also throw a Copper into the sea or fire signifying disposable wealth and status, posing a challenge to others to either match or exceed the gesture. Copper is sometimes associated with powerful female supernatural beings; as with the Kwakwaka’wakw and Haida. Among the Haida, Copper Woman (Xaalajaat) is said to be the wife of Baxwbakwalanuxwsiwe’ (The Cannibal-at-the-North-End-of-the-World). Among the Kwakwaka’wakw, Copper Maker Woman (Tlakwakilayokwa) is said to be the wife of ḵ̓umugwe’ the chief of the undersea world. Both are associated with wealth and prestige.

Danny was born in 1951, and his crest was Frog. He was a self-taught artist. While his grandfather, Bert Dennis, was of Haida origin from Alaska, his grandmother, Elsie Dennis, was Gitksan, so Danny has spent a great deal of his life in Hazelton, BC. His primary art forms were limited edition prints and original paintings, but he also created jewellery. Danny began working as an artist in 1978, and a year later was exhibited at Skhana Art Crafts in West Germany. In 1986, he designed four limited edition prints for the opening of the Leona Lattimer Gallery: Frog, Killerwhale, Eagle, Frog, Lifecycle (Salmon), and Mating Salmon. In 1988-89, he created four more new limited edition prints for Leona Lattimer Gallery.