Davidson, Robert, Sr. (1880 - 1969)

Robert Davidson was a carver in Old Massett, belonging to the ts’aa7ahl ’laanaas Eagle clan. He was the husband of Florence Edenshaw Davidson and the paternal grandfather of Robert Davidson (Jr.). He was a noted canoe builder as a young man, and a canoe he carved with his brother Alfred Davidson in 1908 is now in the Canadian Museum of Civilization (VII-B-1128). The arrangement and selection of figures on the argillite poles in MOA's collections is typical of Davidson Sr.’s work, and can be seen with slight variations on numerous of his model poles. The bodies of the figures tend to be left relatively unsculpted, so that the limbs simply extend from the sides of the pole. Often there is cross-hatching along the rear sides of his poles.