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9. The Frog People Fleeing from the Black Bear (1978)

Artist: Don Yeomans

Medium: serigraph
Size: 21.5 x 20.5 inches
Edition: 75
Ref: DY1978-02
All measurements Height x Width x Depth

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This print illustrates the Haida legend which explains why there were no frogs on the Queen Charlotte Islands for many years. According to the legend, one day long ago, the chief of the Frog people was travelling from one pond to another when suddenly he encountered a huge black bear. It was the first time the Frog chief had ever seen such a creature and he was terrified. The bear, on the other hand, was unimpressed by the tiny frog, and decided to amuse himself by frightening it. He began to stomp around trying to step on the small frog, and it was only the quickness of the Frog chief that enabled him to hop off into the underbrush and escape with his life. Returning to his village, he called his people together and related the horrifying experience he had had. The people became frightened, fearing that the black bear would seek them out and destroy them. The Frog chief and his people decided that it would be safer for them if they left the islands.

The print shows a blue circle of frogs hurriedly trying to escape from the central image of the bear.

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Don Yeomans

(1958- )
Haida

Don Yeomans is one of the most highly respected artists on the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. He was born 1958 in Prince Rupert, B.C. of a Masset Haida father and a Metis mother from Slave Lake, Alberta.

In 1970-71 Yeomans apprenticed under the expert guidance of his aunt, Haida carver Freda Diesing. He continued to work on his own until 1976 when he enrolled in the Fine Arts Program at Vancouver Community College. He also studied Fine Arts at Langara College, where he met Bud Mintz, who was to become an important friend and mentor. In 1978, Yeomans assisted Robert Davidson in the building and carving of four Haida houseposts of the Charles Edenshaw Memorial Longhouse in Masset. During a two-year period he studied jewellery-making under Phil Janze. He has also been influenced by Gerry Marks, Beau Dick and Norman Tait.

Yeomans' many apprenticeships have resulted in an artist/craftsman who produces exquisite artworks in any medium. His carving skills, whether on wood or metal, are exceptional and are enhanced by his consummate understanding of the Haida form. His flat designs have been reproduced in the form of prints, murals, elegant silk neck ties and button blankets (sewn by his wife Trace).

Yeomans' work can be found in the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, the Royal British Columbia Museum and many other famous public institutions. His work is also to be found in many important private collections on a worldwide basis.